Summer

Soft languorous heat builds,

Each breath of the day seems hotter

Each tender touch of the air brings a momentary

Illusion of respite

The green valley seethes in the sun

And still stays green

Water runs still in the many little rills and becks

The air carries so much still

Even the birds fly slowly 

Silence grows over the valley

I look for the lizards on the baking stones

But it was too cold yesterday and will be tomorrow

Pale shadows drift over the hay stripped meadows

When the true clouds come

Will they rage with all this water?

All this heat, will the sky crack open  ?

Shall we dance in the rain?

Shall the coolness return ?

Shall the stone crack ?

Shall the sky turn black ?

Will the slugs and snails dance? 

Will the birds hide ?

Will deer run under the trees?

Will the water run off the ducks backs?

A red admiral drifts as high as my window

Celebrating the warmth

Joyous as the clouds grow

In the blue sky

The heat remained