住在利雅得酒店的顶楼 Living on the Top Floor of a Hotel

Living on the Top Floor of a Riyadh Hotel

by FLGeldhof

People always strive upward.

The Club Level—on the ninth floor—

is a privilege for those who stay

above the eighth.

From there, you overlook all of Riyadh:

hazy and grey,

like the eyes

of the guests on the Club Level.

Downstairs, I go to the first-floor restaurant

for breakfast.

Outside the window, a clear swimming pool.

A staff member, eyes clean and focused,

uses a hose to rinse

already spotless tiles.

Back on the top floor again,

the pool outside looks distant,

like a gemstone

set in limestone.

Surrounding it, those grey

never-cleaned

rooftops of the high places.