As I unzip my dress and peel off my stockings, I think:

Now is a good time to water my plants.

It is 1 am, I am entirely naked, and the plants are on a windowsill facing my college’s campus.

I see my reflection in the window in all its feminine glory.

I do not have a mirror in my room, so I rarely see my whole body.

As I water those plants, I am glad that I remembered to take care of them.

I hope that my care for these plants does not reflect my self care as the window reflects my body:

Inconsistent.

As I ponder this, I realize that I felt much more vulnerable walking to the library in a dress

Than I did naked in front of the window.

Perhaps it was because in that dress everyone could see me, but at 1 am no one was looking.

Crash.

It was a relatively big bird this time, about pigeon sized. Smaller birds, such as sparrows would just leave a tiny splat mark. You know, kind of like when you throw an egg. The bigger ones, though, they can be quite problematic.

Jerry sighed as he heard the crash, slowly folding his newspaper. The more time he took to put the paper away bought time until he had to go assess the damage. He looked the window over, sure there was steam coming out of his ears. With a frustrated sigh, he called down the hall, "Damn it! We need to replace the window again."

As I look up into the moon’s eyes,

The chill of the night loses its sting.

Though you let me go long ago,

I could still feel your warmth clinging to me.

After all, it used to be your eyes I looked into

As the moon would watch us from far away.

She saw right through those eyes deep into our souls.

And now that I have finally let you go,

I realize that I do not need you to look back into hers.

Something I’m sure she knew all along.

Thank you, dear moon, for sharing your soul with me.

Please stop following me, soft friend.

I have places to be, people to see,

My nose is red from the cold, for goodness sake.

I really have to pee!

Yes, I want company and love and attention, too.

Don’t we all?

What’s that you say?

You’ll give me all that and more in return for a few pets?

Okay, I guess a minute won’t hurt.

Where did all that time go?

Is is lost in your fur coat or on the tips of your whiskers?

Well, Chicken Cat, you win this time.

But this is a game I never want to lose, I will always devote my time to petting you.

“Mountains are not alive, but they are trying to reach equilibrium”

My geology notes state.

I am alive, but the mountain is not.

And yet, we find ourselves reaching for the same thing:

The calmness of balance.