SLASH AND BURN

It is early March and

The dry season has several weeks left to run and

The fires of slash and burn farmers are still burning and

So the skies above Chiang Mai are stained pearl grey.

Also, the mild weather of December and

January is a distant memory and

The tropical heat is becoming oppressive again even though

The sun seems to struggle to penetrate the hazy air.

Despite the heat and smoke,

When the mercury falls into the low thirties

During the final daylight hour before sunset,

I stick to my (almost) daily routine

Of walking two kilometres or

Sometimes slightly more.

As I walk I can see the blurry sun

Floating like a fat marigold balloon

That is somehow resisting

The gravitational pull of the mountains in the west

While sooty particles in the thick air

Irritate my throat and my nostrils and

The heat makes me sweat

Enough to make me believe

That the exercise is doing me good.