Mercury rising

Mercury rising

Even the ice

Feels warmer to touch

Hot breath

On my shoulder

Is a little colder

When the wind changes course

It is an uneven path

Wending as it does

Between one extreme

And another

Will it lead

Back to my door

Before fat rain falls

Black with dust

From the plains

Beyond the mountains

Where new worlds end

Simmer with me

In the afternoon

When the sun is high

With fossilised fumes

From the burning

The sky a reflector

Of morals

An arbiter of good taste

A collector

Of distinction

Hotter than July

Sniffing at extinction

With a knowing look

A told you so expression

Blue with cold

Even as it melts

Heavy is the air

Falling

As recycled lead

Until the whole world

Is dead.