Pool Lives Matter

The night was still. Dawn was an hour away. A small lizard crept to the edge of the pool and darted its tongue… insects scurried, killed and fed a thousand others like themselves. The great cycle. The water was a silver screen that reflected the night sky. A cold moon lit the water… uncaring. Far away. No life. No love. No treachery. The pool stretched out beneath it all and waited. The lonely hours. The time between the darkness and heat and sun. The family that would slip into his cool embrace… a respite. They laughed and splashed each other. The grill spat out smoke and it crawled up the side of the house. Roasting meat. Vegetables. Colorful drinks littered the tables by the waters edge. It went on and on into the night… music pulsed. Dancing. Joy. The pool stretched and waited. The wait went on. Its water soon became cloudy. Clarity left. The family could no longer be heard nearby within the brick walls and shimmering windows. “Where have you gone?” The garden keepers came. They made their noises. They blew dust and grass across his green face… He couldn’t understand his ongoing neglect. The men who normally came and kept his vision clear were no longer around. Despondent. The cycle of sun and moon continued on and one morning a man came. He dropped a metal mouth into his green surface. He felt it pulse and life began to leave him… His surface receded. He couldn’t understand anything. Baking in the hot sun, his plaster skin cracked. “Why?”

A man in a beanie came. He sat on the stairs and spoke. “You sure are a shoebox… I don’t think I could skate you if I wanted to. You barely have any transitions.” He walked around. He caressed his tired brick edge, his round-eyed light, the smooth tiles. The pool knew that this one cared. He sat there on the plaster and sipped water. He ate an apple. He sat silently with the pool. They were one. The man’s eyes took in the beauty of the pool. He felt admired and loved. After the man left, he wanted him to come back. “Come skate me… Try. You can. I know it.” The pool longed for company. None came. Weeks had wings. Clouds hurried by. Leaves littered his plaster face. Silence was broken one morning. A rumbling punched across the ground. He could feel it in the bowels of his plumbing. “What on earth…? It grew closer. A growl and a clank of metal feet…  A Godmachine. Destruction only. It loomed overhead. An orange head appeared and its iron mouth gaped. Huge teeth. Rend and chew. The teeth fell…

He couldn’t believe it had come to this. He felt his body shudder. The Godmachine billowed smoke. It hissed and snarled. It bucked and rocked. The pool’s brick mouth screamed silently… “No….”

Thank you for reading. Pool lives matter. Skate - Ozzie