the alias I've been living under

It's all just hanging out with cousins. An extended family reunion. Cousins you maybe didn't even know you had. Everybody is somebody's cousin, been knowing them since childhood.

Not always, some of us have lived profoundly isolated lives. The bodies wrapped in blankets on the streets, freezing in the cold, the woman with no pants, twerking on the subway platform, calling for someone, anyone to come and get it— they're cousins too. Babies once, born here as someone's child, deserving of all the love and protection. Some families have had better luck looking after each other than others: resourced, connected, good at playing the games that lead to success here, whatever success is. Just surviving seems like success enough to me most days, never mind thriving.