Thought Experiment

Total darkness Eyes opened or closed there is nothing but black Everywhere Hairs and nerve endings stretched to the limit Feeling nothing no clothing no temperature no moisture Utterly weightless Ears ring with complete silence Heart pounding unheard Exhale – inhale not even a hush Panicked thoughts scream Where am I? How long have I been here? Time alternately races and plods on An unseen floor presses against tense feet Or do tense feet press against an unseen floor Coarse wooden fibers prick tender soles Pressure up or is it down creates the sensation of standing Like on the bottom of a swimming pool Fleeting contact that takes effort to maintain Except now there is nothing to push against to preserve the connection The pressure increases against feet tingling with sensation Causing relaxed legs to bend slightly at the knee and ankle As if sitting in an imaginary chair Thigh and calf muscles strain against the rapidly increasing force of the floor Core muscles flex for balance Arms and shoulders tighten searching for support in pitch black emptiness A drop of sweat begins to tickle down the left armpit