Breathless

Breathless

Insufferable heat

January

Hotter than July

A world on fire.

Faces distort in the mirror

Skin cracks

There is little respite

Magpies carry parasols

Lizards bask

In the shade

Ice cubes

Float in the fridge

Too much power

Is lost

In the exchange.

The sun bursts

Beyond its ignition point

The weight of it

Stretching the limits

Of separation.

Though pooled in

Perspiration

I am buoyed

By the presence

Of your absence

There is healing

In the cooling touch

Of memory.

A weft of stale air

Hangs over dust-topped

Buildings.

Rust-rimed roofs

Shimmering

In the haze

Almost beautiful

It could be Shangri-La.

If only

I could find a plunge pool

And sink deeply down

All the way

To the bottom.

Finding solace

In your arms

A lasting embrace

Worth the effort

It would take

To manufacture

An escape.