The narrow metal door lets out a weak cry
as the rusted hinges grind open against each other.
I ease my way past them into the open air outside,
set high above the streets.

Stepping out onto the rooftop, the tiny pebbles
that sit upon the entire stretch stir under my feet.
A few benches have been scattered around to make
the place appear more inviting, or perhaps less desolate.

A sturdy line of tall wire fence surrounds the edges
of the roof, allowing me to look outward without
danger. Set upon a hill, the school overlooks
the road and town below.

The roar of engines filters faintly between the branches
of the trees -- a constant hum accompanied by the
occasional splotch of colored movement from far below, 
Tiny specks of people mingling within the scene.

I step back from the fence and lay myself down.
The stones before now sit keenly under my back.
My eyes closed, I take a full breath of the clean, pleasant air.
When I open them, I’m momentarily blinded.

The brilliant, heavenly expanse above looks down upon me.
An azure sky is painted with immense, silvery clouds,
the latter being carried lazily by the soft breeze from the west.
They graciously guard my vision from the sun behind them.

Time becomes an abstract thing. I may have heard the bell
signaling the end of lunch, but the chance is not enough to
remove me. I lie there, experiencing, becoming part of the
world around me, doing something people do not do enough.