Pools by the Calm Southern Waters

There were a series of pools and a singer that sang sad love songs, you know, the unrequited thing and such. Many palm fronds verdant swayed just a bit. But there was nobody there, so he was just singing, as if to God or if not God then the air or himself. I got a soda and the lady said there was no charge but the soda I knew was six dollars. She wouldn’t say why there was no charge for me and I to this day wonder. A man arrived beside me and then another and the one talked of boats, baseball, and weather. Some of the things he said were, ‘You can’t even be out here in July after 11:00 am it’s too hot’ and ‘I’ve not taken that boat out in over a year. It’s all a bit of a waste I think.’  I also remember he was upset at his baseball team because things had changed but I didn’t hear all as I swam away due to boredom and restlessness. There was officially speaking no smoking, but he had smoked a cigarette on the sly and put it out in a bit of sand between two paving stones. I drank my cold soda and just looked at the local birds up the way as they stood on labyrinthine paths that disappeared interestingly into distant flora and lawns. The birds also stood on little piers and docks plus wooden bridges that crossed calm southern waters.