the world we abuse
roasting us like marshmallows
in a fire we lit
heat wave
Accelerant
our apocalypse
once in ultra slow motion
now on fast forward
Ravish
it is raining!
no, not water
from clouds
but dead leaves
from july trees
scorched by
a brutal heat
too sunburnt
to evergreen
falling, fallen
brittle brown
leafy teardrops
raining down
the dry warm
forlorn face of
mother earth
Opening night
monsoon winds tell tales
lightning dances thunder sings
rain is main event
Finally a bath!
watching birds splash in
morning-after rain puddles
cleanses my spirit
It’s a dry heat streak
full moon monsoon clouds
glow pale light through windy trees
parched leaves shadow dance
Weather reports 2023
PHOENIX, ARIZONA
* * *
JULY 19
july the nineteenth
overnight low temp
of ninety-seven degrees
* * *
OCTOBER 19
october nineteenth
one hundred and three degrees
climate change is hoax
* * *
NOVEMBER 6
day before winter
ninety-three degrees
summer-autumn in phoenix
* * *
NOVEMBER 8
dear gods of weather —
will it ever rain again
in bone-dry phoenix?
* * *
NOVEMBER 14
now a week into winter
high: eighty-eight F degrees
that’s not fahrenheit
* * *
NOVEMBER 18
i begged & pleaded
for rain but now bemoaning
winter mosquitoes
* * *
DECEMBER 6
really, december:
high of eighty-two degrees?
oh no you didn’t!
* * *
DECEMBER 21
on midwinter day
seventy-seven degrees
a sunburned solstice
* * *
Monsoon love
for the harsh heat wave
wet apologetic gift
from clouds to tree roots