Sickness

From the shadows behind my eyes, I open to reveal a virginal white sky. A breeze moves across the pool just beyond my feet and it ripples a floating reflection through it. It has a rhythm that sings with all the looseness that surrounds me. This lonely deck is covered by a shelter of dried palm leaves that surrounds me with a crinkle sound. I take in a sigh without trying and drop deeper into a relaxed state. I can see the sweat on the edge of my nose the rim of my glasses and eyebrows peeking down from my sockets. I am looking straight up to where the blue meets white. On the second floor of this hotel is the pools slightly raised above the city floor and there is no sign of anyone from here, but only for a moment before the void is disrupted. The volume is on before I notice as I hear the sound of progress below and my eyes drop from the heavens above, a bit closer to land. I see that my expanse is crowded by layers of buildings, towers, skyscrapers, offices, apartments and every architecture that expresses its money differently. In these buildings that look so empty, it is hard to believe they are made for people.
A pigeon charters across my present airspace vaulting the wall and swooping down over to my right, out of my view. It seems like a shortcut in between some of this cramped city space. The wind floats in again as the sun repeats its heated glare. I hear more shuffling leaves as I shift to the green foliage above me. The shuffling sounds come in a different pitch from the leaves that are green. I see the undersides of the planted palms, with all their bold life on display. I enjoy the site of a new sprout, the fresh curved armature of a stock and the carriage of a heavy fruit locked into place. The tips of these leave echo upward into the outline of feathers as I focus deeper into oblivion. I begin to track the phenomenon of winged creatures weaving in the wind. Washing up into my view from this fresh wave an increasingly countless number of these shapes begin random operations. But random may be a naïve description. I watch them pattern around in the thermals above me. I see them travel in circles and curly q´s, ovals and cones, word bubbles and spill patterns spinning up and down and through each other. Their population increases as their black color reveals different shades as they become smaller and further and further away. I wonder about their economy in this urban environment. They seem to exert so little energy as they tilt and drag their wings. Is it a time to rest or to socialize or is this some processional behavior from the animal kingdom. I don’t know, I can’t imagine it. It is like the voyerous glide of a swallow that engages in a flight of fancy. It is a reason that I cannot contemplate now. My body is exhausted as I am gripped with a virus I cannot escape. I see health in the future but not before the sun sets today.

I await being up in my room now so I can be alone with more of my thoughts as I wait for the sickness to pass and my movement to return.