• In the middle of the day, in the open,
    sunlight falls and attaches on leaves.
    The light peeks through when wind
    moves them aside. Yellow patches of sun appear on green
    grass and peachy flesh. Eyes are staring
    at the sky and the tree and the bird.

    Muddy brown specks paint the feathers of the bird.
    It sees me watching. I expect it to fly away into the open.
    But it doesn't. It stays on its branch, staring
    back at me. The little animal looks back, then disappears into the leaves.
    I strain my eyes looking for the brown specks to no avail. Just green
    and twigs grace my eyes, waving in the wind.

    In that breeze, I see a bubble blow past with the wind.
    It floats lazily, then shoots up and away like a bird.
    For a moment, I saw a rainbow on the bubble, specifically the green
    part of the spectrum. The bubble has disappeared right in the open
    sky. I turn back to the lofty leaves.
    Where's the bird? I go back to staring.

    Time passes very slowly while staring.
    More trees and plants rustle as the wind
    blows through and disrupts the leaves.
    They sound angry, and there goes the bird.
    Perhaps it was upset by how its hiding place was blown open?
    Oh well. Now all I have is the lush green

    of the grass and tree. Stains on my blue jeans are now a rich green
    from the crushed grass. Oh well. I can feel the sun staring
    at me, looking right at me like an open
    book. Clouds move with the wind,
    so the sun no longer shines. It left as quickly as the bird.
    Now I see a darker shade on the leaves.

    Another gust and a few leaves
    fall on me. They are a grand, bright green,
    like a lime or an exotic bird.
    Now the leaf and I are staring
    at each other, exchanging energy. Again, the wind
    rustles my hair and takes a loose leaf into the open.

    Out in the open, with all the lovely leaves,
    the feel of the wind on my scalp, and the utter feeling of green
    everywhere, my guilty pleasure is staring at overlooked things, like that brown bird.