Transient Vista

A series of neverending moments. Permanent nows stretching endlessly without thought of future, without knowledge of past.

Waking up on the floor after blinking , I scramble to find my phone to read the time. It's still on a meaningless setting form somewhere that must have occurred before but I can't picture. Probably another departure lounge. Whatever the clock says it's context free and doesn't help me place time. Fall asleep again, fearful of snoring, unsure what the etiquette is.

Go to the bathroom. In the first room through the door there is a series of stools facing a wall with a tap per stool. Small square swimming pool tiles in grey line the wall and creep along the floor to the stools. I've not seen a urinal like this before.

I'm still staring at the closest low stool, wondering how best to employ it in my quest for relief. A thought begins to make itself heard through the din of echoing airport safety announcements and departure times. "Take your shoes off when going into mosques."

Shoes, feet, smelly. Tap, water, clean. Do not piss here.

Wake up again, this time there's carpet under me and chart pop is playing. Theres chart pop playing everywhere, there is chart pop playing now, everywhere is now. Everywhere is now. Home, Victoria station, train, Gatwick shops, Etihad airlines, etihad bus to dubai, taxi from dubai to airport, taxi from dubai terminal one to terminal two, terminal two I can't distinguish if theres music playing into or out of my ears. Carpet floor where I am now singing along, trying not to snore.

Everywhere is now, I am now, I am everywhere. I am everywhere I have been and am going to be.

Following that flawed logic: I am pop music. You have every right to hate me.

"excuse me" What. No. I wasn't asleep. My leg spasms and kicks over a chair. Look how alert I am I pick the chair up and jump to my feet. I was just listening to the contents of my rucksack to make sure they were still inanimate, I thought id heard them speaking to each other. Yeah. Wide awake, me.