Curtains hang limp
in the front room windows
through which no breeze
has wafted for days
only hot dead air
hangs like a lazy haze
through which seeps
the crisp sound
of sticky tires
crackling like slow-torn velcro
as cars roll sluggish
down our street
tugging at the molten tar patches
of the sizzled surface
in this freakish September bake
the gerbera daisies droop
panting in their porcelain pineapple pots
toasting on the withered wooden stoop
paint cracked and dry
scorched from neglect
even the silk plant
on the kitchen sill
seems to wilt
as perfectly
we burn a threshold
life in slow motion
as two-digit slowly rolls
into triple-digit heat
the glowing zeroes stare red
from the temperature display
like a pair of burning eyes
vacant as my baked brain
sledged with humid thoughts
I bring cool water
to moisten my sun cracked
parched lips
they do not smile
in this climate aberration
as slowly I simmer
deep in dying summer
seeking autumn’s mercy
*
Lawrence Tieke aka rtkistner © 2021
Poetry at: dVerse
