Monsoon in Laos

I can't blame the weather for my lack of postings...it's the Chinese government. Everything was blocked...so I'll try to catch up. JUNE POST The rain rivals caged crickets cries. We are in E something China and the dampness of clothes carries no soggy weight on charmed spirits. Laughing at myself in the bathroom mirror; I can't recognize the stranger who laughs back at me: un-groomed brows, dry-racked face, skinny, skinny skinny. My wide smile erases tropical moist heat, topples lithe, slithering mosquitoes, fighting sandalwood incense and outrageous carvings for my mind's grey blood. Reality visions, walking again on ceilings, wisps of feathers stuck on my back, tickling my spine. What did I do to deserve so much? Learning to pray, lighting candles: may the mantle of age generously clothe me and my friends as we wander from oasis to oasis in desert lands. Having always been explorers, we eat from proffered plates, asking no questions, licking clean the hosts' store, offering a smile, sometimes a tale. No notice of their slack bellies or baby soft stomach mews. Our tribe believed our hopes, aspirations, could propel, transform us all, together, into people who could fly, without sacrifice, without touching the sun. Our beliefs were very, very, wrong. Wishes are burdens for others desiring release; I seek eternity. While they thirst, I long for briny oceans,. Sweet, salt, fire, water; a satisfying palette. I feel every toe. My hair strands and weaves a song. Life is a privilege.