Heat

The heat arrived
Yesterday prodding
Our memory with
Prickly heat,
We live in a desert
That though usually
Tempered by the sea
Can blister you when
The sky is clear
The wind is slack
The perspiration
Runs off you in
The stillness of night.
Fans are our defense,
Until the sea brings
Back cool breezes
To soothe our heads
And hides but we
Know the desert is
Close by staring us
In the eye like a
Long-legged
Texas chupacabra.
This mirage shimmers
In the mind held at
Arms length by the
Ears as we sip ice tea
In the garden crunching
Carrot pieces and
Wondering
What
The
Rest of
July and August
Will be like
If our
Arms
Tire and
The desert
Chupacabra
Lunges
Close
Enough
To feel it’s
Hot humid breath.
Still, mostly it is
Surprisingly
Cool here,
Breezes
Push the heat
Back into the desert
Far beyond arms
Reach and
Fall and
Winter
Are
Yet to come.
And the
Sea.