Slow beat

the summer heat

watermelon eat

stop

admire

earth-hardened feet

catch warm-air nap

eyes at rest

beneath cap

swim again

one more lap

that leap

oh that leap

from dock to lake

felt better than crack

remember and shivers still
race

down my back.

Select sweet berries
by the bucket load

spy rabbit

catch toad

deer stroll past
salad-bar the road

garter snake wake

grass alive under foot

happy startled dog

wag-leaps
won’t stay put

tide comes up
surrounds our knees

turning our faces

in, to the breeze,

becoming flowers

to sunny
bumbling bees.

Wandering summer rhythm

a warm night dance

where bodies come to meet

hot damn

damn

hard to beat.

feet