It was lonely there but not too much. The leaves in the kukui trees filled the warm pond tidal pool with leaves, much like tea--it was filled with leaves the shape of Bodhi tree leaves. They were yellow and were easily mistaken for eels brushing by in the heavy water pouring in freshly from the narrow canal leading to the ocean. It was relaxing but not too because of the darkness and dim hunk of moon behind close-looking clouds. It was all-the-way darkness in the grove of trees but up above maybe an owl flew around or was it just a coconut palm frond waving out of line with the others?
Mysteries awaited this swimmer. It was almost too much to open both eyes but necessary to see the way backwards, the direction of the swim.
It was never that way in the classroom. Undercover work was often breath-by-breath and then the bell would ring for recess or, even better, lunch. Strange that B. kept begging for a dollar to buy a spam musubi when he was obviously on free and/or reduced lunch. He lost his card. It was five dollars to replace. There wasn't five dollars or even one. It was almost as if he needed an excuse to talk. I did not bring up the holes punched into my paintings (abstract) that were hung up last year. A temporary lapse in my disguise.
Not too much is the best kind of lonely.
ReplyDeleteAll disguises are mysteries, probably often necessarily so.
Warm ocean waters, the embraces of a great goddess... though how would one know about that, from the night black depths of a cold winter city.