sweating in the shade the boulder and I I’d shave my head but it only brings the sun closer closer still a mob of crows re-convenes in my ear iridescent midnight feathers aimed at an owl

Dave Bonta

Bibliophile

All morning in a book— and then heat, a woman, my yard. I found the earth as it is now: enlarged.

britDCFHK

Summer

Summer tiptoes into the air with the change of heat. It brings slipping, slidding, swim suit fun. It gallops out of touch. Just as silently as it leaps in, It leaves us cold again.

Balachandran V

Did you know? They are cutting down the old trees Up in the cantonment area So that you can ride In contentment Cocooned in your air-conditioned car. You wouldn’t know, sir That I have walked under their shade For the last forty years On and off, not everyday On and off, light to shade From hot to cool From peace to strife and back Among the old trees As they stretched out their branches To protect me from the glare

Balachandran V

Fish out of Water

In this heat, I sweat profuse. I splash water at my armpits The nape of my neck And shameless, over my genitals. On the bed, in the nude I fart and sigh, happy. The dogs lie legs up in the air, Too tired to smell the wind. I choke at the chilled lemonade Gurgling down my throat. Out in the portico, a crow Dips its beak and then jumps Into the clay pan, splashing in the water. I wish I were a fish, Swishing my tail, chilling With the mermaids.