Poetry Jam: Natural Order

gnats, bad this year, buzz my ears and eyes, competing with the mosquitoes for a drink, to beat the oppressive heat of a summer sun. they are living confetti, thick enough to leave shadows on the well worn dirt path, cracked and pitted with half moon impression, incomplete footprints of previous passers.

a slight breeze plays in the chest high grass off each side, shushing background static as it rubs, one to another. grasshoppers & butterflies flitter in aerial acrobatic dance routines, choreographed long before they were ever dreamed & the hurricanes stoked in the beating of their wing.

majestic in color, blue, black, grey & white, a jay sits in the boughs of an old gnarled tree, singing, accompanied by a choir of voices. other birds answer in layers, harmony, melody. they pay no mind to who listens, just lose themselves in the music, creating movements.

the river does what a river does, rolls through, round rocks, taking bits with it to carry where ever it fits, licking the shore line in a continuous kiss. each touch it sighs burbles, as water gliders skim its surface, watched from below by fish with hungry eyes, swimming in lazy circles.

ancient, the great tree pushes roots up to create benches to sit or places passers through can rest their head and make bed of the grass or sand grit of the bank. half a rope hangs, weathered, end broke and frayed where once a swing hung, when not in use, throwing bodies out into the center.

an old tattoo adorns the tree shoulder, bare, bark removed and replaced by initials. they are not as distinct as they once were, but still they mark the place where you took me once, and i let you. stars bore witness as the sun hid its face, blushing black the sky, nothing between us but the moment of shared breath.

running my fingers over the carving, i long to feel the water's cool wetness on my skin, quenching the forge of these memories. summer is here once more. nature is calling.

Poetry Jam this week is about how you like to 'chill' in the summer, and what better way to enjoy the chill than to crank up the heat just a bit more. It makes the cool down all the more satisfying. Smiles.