Doldrums

(notes from 36°12.51006’, 081°32.63634)
(fictitiously 00°00.36336’, -021°28.52370’ )

I will attempt to explain
It’s a feeling that occasionally thwarts me
Of dreams and dithers
One thing is certain
It is gummed with meaning

Have you been?
Stuck in the Doldrums
Winds from nowhere or everywhere
A gentle breeze from all sides
Lifting upward

     a. The Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) is a seamless belt spanning the Earth’s equator. It extends roughly five degrees north and south. Winds converge here. Causing thick humidity, fast-rising water vapor due to the heat, and little to no wind. A ship with a sail rendered useless.

ITCZ=ITCH
I’ve got an itch

I need a moment
A pause, stasis
To feel the sticky glue that binds
Steeping, slowing, welcoming the sagging sail
Feel the calm, rotation, and buoyancy

     b. The word “liminal” comes from the Latin word “limen,” meaning threshold. To be in a liminal space means to be on the verge of something new but not quite there. A precipice.

Physically, emotionally, metaphorically

The Earth developed a liminal space
A space for calm and chaos
A place where we can get stuck
A place where storms emerge
Energy prevails out of nothingness

Stuck may conjure the lifeboat
To flee or abandon
Stay, render, buffer in the quiet
Allow the Doldrums to lead
Scratch the ITCZ a bit longer

Notes
US Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “What Are the Doldrums?” NOAA’s National Ocean Service, July 15, 2016. https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/doldrums.html.