A blanket of heat settles over everything.
The air thick like the cotton blossom under the sun.
Cool breezes mean more to you when your shirt is soaked with sweat,
A reprieve from the gods of nature and their high sun effigy.
Nights are subtly lit with grace.
Once from the stars between spontaneous rain clouds,
And twice by winged creatures glowing the mating dance of the lightning bug.
Their pace is slow and intentional,
Winking to the cadence of the tree frog and the thunder clap.
The songs are piercing And beautiful and older than our bones.
The crickets at dawn and dusk and their amphibian cohorts
Frog, toad and insect singing their praises to mates not yet found
They search with the chorus and harmony of midsummer.
A dance older than memory goes on around us
And I can’t help but feel blessed to hear it.
The skies will darken and the clouds will pucker,
Gracing us with the rains that nourish and wash away the sins of the rest of the year.
Songbirds celebrate the hatching of eggs hidden
As the waves of heat hover above hot pavement like dancing specters.
Alive around us on spider’s legs and cloven hooves
We are never alone.
It is apparent in these hot days of summer.
I am reminded that I am home.
Gods are around us in everything,
Should we acknowledge the songs outside of our windows
We will know without wonder
That this thing that we are a part of, this summer symphony
Is a divine celebration among the green of our ancestors.
Blossoms blooming and trees dancing in an afternoon breeze,
I choose to join in this ancestral dance.
Wither not on the vine, but grow
Into these moments of missing silence.
I shall sing along.