Summer breathes
it sighs down my neck
it whispers cool remembrances in the night
in the night, there is escape
sometimes a breeze
perhaps a rainstorm to cool and dry the air
but morning thaws
and afternoon grows heavy and long
in the house, there is little movement
some sleep
some watch the clock
tick tock, tick tock
cuckoo
and I try not to move, not to sweat
outside, children frolic in pools
and run out of houses slurping and sloshing
with fruit running down their arms
while others engage themselves in the great
pursuit of skin cancer
and I sit silently in reflection
I lie like a cat in the afternoon heat
a thought can last a million years
when summer breathes
- June 22, 1984, A.D.
