HEAT

Southern heat
Hanging heavy
In the stagnant
Summer air
Barely broken
By the spinning
Of steel blades
Humming
In the dying
Of the day
Dripping
Brown hair
Drying in the
Artificial breeze
The heavenly
Breath
Relieving the
Sting
Of a merciless
Alabama sun
Glaring down
At splashing
Children
In a muddy lake
Small body
Lying in a
Well-worn hall
Eyes heavy and
Closed
Embraced by
The scent of
Soap
And the gentle
Rattling of
Plate against cup
In a sink of
Bubbles
One breaks free
Floating
Lazily
Through a
Too-small kitchen
Only to be
Impaled
On the loathsome
Brown paneling
A tiny
Momentary spot
Of iridescence
In a house
Made of despair
Voices murmuring
From the drone
Of nameless
Faces
Speaking of
Unknown places
Words
Without meaning
To the little one
Lying
With closed eyes
Reliving the
Laughter
Of that
Sweltering day
Fleeting innocence
Captured
In the web
Of memory
One moment
One
Perfect
Moment
In a lifetime
Of blatant
Imperfection
Repeating forever
In the smell
Of heat
And the
Humming
Of steel blades