This Fish Needs A Bicycle

rain drops on roses fire escapes

Just moments ago, as I was standing under my bathroom skylight, I heard the crackle of thunder. It made me tilt my head and listen more closely, wondering why it was the first I'd heard of it all evening. Then I went around my small apartment opening windows and shutting off fans (turned on largely to drown out the intermittent banging of heating pipes) and sat in the dark living room to listen.

At first it was nothing but quiet. Until my ears adjusted, opened and took in all the elements of quiet.

Rain on the skylight, on the plastic of the window air conditioner, on the metal of the fire escape. My first fire escape.

A bit of far off thunder.

A horn honking faintly (probably a taxi), as city sounds wove themselves in with the natural ones.

Wind. Air traffic. The squeaky breaks of the M86.

I leaned my head against the sueded soft arm of my couch, smiled and breathed in the city breeze. My first city breeze.

Or at least the first one I've taken time to appreciate.

Posted by This Fish at April 14, 2004 10:33 PM