Heat

atop cotton sheets
the drone of the ceiling fan
keeping me awake

sleeping dogs-
paddle fans spin
in lazy circles

Penance

another meeting-
I know your failings so well
as I do my own

rain slicked neon-
another club soda
graces my glass

Religion

knelt down before you-
my voice offered as a sign
of my devotion

scorched copper sky-
blood I’ve spilled
on your alter

Loneliness

reading into my
masochistic tendencies-
our old love letters

grimy windows-
a metal fan
stirs the air

Beach

white scrims of sea foam
gauzy and delicate as
a dragonfly’s wing

seaweed-
sun dried by
the high tide line

White

the whiteness of bone
long buried in the desert
revealed by the wind

summer evening-
dogwood petals
in the grass

Summer

chocolate ice cream
slowly melting in the heat
of the summer sun

amber skies-
an ice cream truck
around the corner

Shoreline

a weathered rowboat-
mooring line gently slapping
up against the dock

children jumping
from the pier-
lakeside

Humanity

the fifth of July
a time for reflection on
what we have become

saguaro cactus-
a small sneaker
in the sand

Independence

canons and mortars-
our patriotic fervor
lights up the night sky

fireworks
the dog hides
under my bed