Summer

knelt down before you-
my voice offered as a sign
of my devotion
–
scorched copper sky-
blood I’ve spilled
on your alter

walking to the car
mercury vapor street lamps
spilling blue green light
–
drizzle-
moths dance
in the streetlights

reading into my
masochistic tendencies-
our old love letters
–
grimy windows-
a metal fan
stirs the air

white scrims of sea foam
gauzy and delicate as
a dragonfly’s wing
–
seaweed-
sun dried by
the high tide line

the whiteness of bone
long buried in the desert
revealed by the wind
–
summer evening-
dogwood petals
in the grass

chocolate ice cream
slowly melting in the heat
of the summer sun
–
amber skies-
an ice cream truck
around the corner

a weathered rowboat-
mooring line gently slapping
up against the dock
–
children jumping
from the pier-
lakeside

the fifth of July
a time for reflection on
what we have become
–
saguaro cactus-
a small sneaker
in the sand

canons and mortars-
our patriotic fervor
lights up the night sky
–
fireworks
the dog hides
under my bed

above the highway
a red tailed hawk circling
riding the thermals
–
hunting-
an osprey plummets
to the sea