* * * *
flames of summer
crow's burning wing
in the melting summer
night
- unfavorable flight -
tossing and turning
in a rattlesnake dream,
90 degrees and the sheets
are sweating, my back aches,
the stars are on fire
and that raccoon knocking around
the backyard looking for a drink
just flipped me off.
a small fan
next to my head
whirs and whips the hot air
into my ear: sleep
is an impossible dream.
the ratlesnake sizzles
in my grip, the crow
calls madly from its burning perch,
the flames of summer
rise up from hell
and spit in my face.
really, i'm much more of an autumn person,
if ya know what i mean ....
* * * *
cold hard facts
listen:
the dragons
are fighting over her,
right outside the window.
a princess shrieks, "HELP!!"
but no knight would dare
enter this land.
no armor can stop
the bullets of madness
that tear at this night.
once upon a time,
i remember when the dragons
stayed in the storybooks,
but that was a long time ago
and times have certainly changed.
why, just last night
a dragon ate a child
walking back from the corner store
with a popcicle:
i ask you,
is that fair?
HELL NO!
but times have certainly changed, yes they have,
and you can be sure
that we've learned to avert our eyes,
lock our doors, zip our lips
and dim the lights.
(the cold hard facts
of the long hot nights)....
* * *
(c) r.a. evers