The Wind

Today brought wind.  Shifting wind. Strong wind.  Wind that seemed to be in my face as I cycled, pushing me back, no matter which direction I rode.  Cooling wind, pouring around the side of the building on the warm, humid day.  I stood, arms outstretched, enjoying the freshness as the river of air streamed past.

Wind.  It's the feeling of touch that senses wind most directly.  Eyes detect the wind's effects, as it transports clouds, flutters leaves, swirls dust.  Vibrations set into the air by the wind come to the ear, and sometimes scents to the nose.  But most consistently and directly, the wind touches us - warming or cooling, rushing past skin, pressing, sometimes buffeting.

I lay under a tree, looking up through the leafy branches, and watched the branches bend and leaves flutter, energized by the swirling gusts that came from one direction, then another.  Leaves glow with light streaming in from above, and dance in the pulses of air, making lively patterns of light and shadow.

Wind.  It circulates air around the planet - bringing to me the air I breathe next, and carrying my exhale away, swirling and mixing into the atmosphere.