07/21/2010: "I Have a New Appreciation for the Shade"

I have a new appreciation for the shade

A long tall drink of water

Sitting on the front step after supper

Sucking a popsicle

The shock of a cold shower

The sweat between my shoulder blades

The breeze of an oscillating fan

Passing back and forth across my body

As I try to sleep

This re-acquaintance with

The sensuality of summer

Is a pleasure I would have gladly foregone

But the breakdown of my air conditioner

Left me with little choice

But to surrender

Or to suffer

What the season had to offer

And that’s not much of a choice at all.

Three morals in this story,

1. The summer is a season of sensual delights.
2. But we turn our backs on them for the comfort of a carefully controlled and calibrated climate.
3. To surrender or to suffer, it's a surprisingly difficult choice.

Yours with creativity and imagination,
Darlene

p.s. the installation of my new central air conditioner makes it tolerable to write this post at my desk.