Summer Days
by Maralee Gerke

Summer days begin in stillness
like the long breath before birthday candles are blown out.
A halo of mist hangs above the mountains
and I throw off twisted sweaty sheets.

Shimmering in rainbows at the edge of the sprinklers,
heat as thick as Maria's enchilada sauce,
envelops the yard and slows my steps
as I shift water from dry spot to dry spot.

After noon the air is dipped in caramel taffy
and I swelter with leaden limbs
waiting for the hesitant sun to drop
sticky and oozing toward the western horizon.

The long day subsides into pearly night.
As columns of warm air rise from the lawn
I step out into the soft evening
and inhale the perfume of moonlight on sunflowers.



 

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