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.
