everything else: the middle distance
dear internet,
i am trying to expand my worldview beyond its current scope: a phone screen, on which i tend to fictional cats, redecorate a fictional house, read my books, scroll endlessly through newsfeeds. work laptop, its screen tilted all the way back to avoid the glare of the sun as i annotate PDFs. home laptop, one tab open to the final season of mad men, one tab open to whatsapp web so i have easy access to zoom meeting links.
my eyes are strained. this week i’ve had to lie in a darkened room with the ice pack from a sushi delivery on my face. i placed cucumber slices last evening onto closed eyelids and into open mouth. the thing to do in this case is to look into the middle distance:
the sunbirds that take turns to drink the drip from my neighbours’ a/c runoff. the birds of prey circling overhead with a constant, unsettling shrieking. the particular arpeggio of a stray dog chorus as they make their displeasure known to a distant great dane on his evening walk. a neighbour leaning over a wall, clutching onto a leash, so that his beagle can pee outside his property. my laundry, dripping more than it should because i’m too unpracticed to wring my clothes out properly. the complicated ecosystem of twilight joggers and brisk walkers, all athleisure and energetic arms.
no face close enough to come into focus. all my flowers dying. all my plants sprouting new shoots, greener than green.
love,
t