emptying out

waves 
all night long
fan on low
night birds
the call to prayer 
at five am

I get up
watch the orange light
beyond the coconut palms
outside the open
bathroom window
oil my skin
with coconut oil
as instructed
by Ayurveda

eat dry roasted
peanuts and small, sweet
bananas
on my porch
walk out
to the black sand

watch rows of fisherman
slowly haul in
their enormous nets
as the sun
grows
catching their white
t-shirt collars
the white of the waves
pale blue sea
pink sky

later
the heat freezes everything
the blood in my veins
slowed
almost to a standstill

my brain
numb
with lassitude
fuzzy from lack of sleep
or from too much
capitulation
to the soft mattress
and the gentle
hum
of the fan
at midday

words stop
paintings stop
thoughts stop
everything
retracts
folds back
into the body
becomes the surface
of my skin
too dry
or too wet
straining
for the smallest
whiff of air

.