So there I am swimming in this pool, a small concrete lined kidney with blue tile trim. The air is heavy with moisture and looks like smoke. I am naked and mostly submerged. The water line tickles the bottom of my nose. The trees surrounding the pool have big broad green leaves and they sag heavy with surface water.

As I am dog paddling around I notice that my future has followed me to the pool. I strapped it to my head like a pair of goggles and floated around. I liked the weird noise in my head that having my eyes covered seemed to produce. Before long my future got all fogged up and I couldn't see shit, so I took it off and sent it to the bottom of my dreamy pool.

Then I noticed something else at the bottom of the deep end. I plunged underwater and swam to the bottom of the pool, skimming across the bottom on my chest. Just as I was in reach, I knew it was my jaded past. It had to be. It probably stalked my future straight to this place. Each time I tried to get a handle on the thing, it moved just enough to be out of reach. Suddenly the water pressure started caving in my ear drums and I winced. I managed to reach out and grab the past, but I couldn't be sure of its intent so I carried it to the top, like a child might hold a dead worm between two fingers, and then dropped it.

I didn't feel like chasing my past all around, and seeing as it wasn't invited anyway, I let it alone. But over by the filter lurked my family, my work, and my ambitions, all huddled up and conspiring. I tossed them high into the air and noticed how they shimmied all about, no balance, all erratic. I pushed them under water and tried to hold them down by sitting on them, but they shot out from under my crotch and landed in the grass beside the pool, decidedly out of reach, and absolutely out of control.

I had heavy burning eyes by this time, probably from the careless use of chemicals in my pool, so I swam to the edge and threw my arms over, laying my cheek on the concrete walk. How stupid, I thought, this didn't help anything. Then I began to pee and I must have fallen asleep because I can't remember anything else.