A
sawdust haze and feverish itch surrounds the nose as the eyes begin
to smart, provoking an anticipatory and reassuring, though useless,
compulsion to touch the nib of the nose with the side of the hand.
A
tightening of the facial muscles, a clenching of eyes, collides with
a whip lash, neck jolting snap, releasing an orgasmic gunshot of
compressed snot sprayed out into the world, as we intone the
universal prayer of the photic sneeze reflex 'Achoo!'.
The
sense of release, comparable to post coital bliss, is experienced for
a few milliseconds as the senses come back into focus. A short-lived
moment of oneness and peace are felt in this instance, like breaking
the sharpness of a migraine; tension has been eased, a mist cleared,
balance reestablished.
We
come down from this heady zen like height instantaneously, to reach
for the tissue paper, to wipe the straggling wet and blow the slimy
remnants. Recovering
is like opening a window in a dust-filled room to the bright, clear
air of a summer morning.
