Incandescent

noon’s furnace: asphalt shimmers; air—thick, slow— cracks open. cicadas drill through stagnant gold. a sprinkler’s hiccup-hiss: the pavement’s glow un/curls in steam. the hydrant’s shout: uncontrolled. children shriek!—a liquid burst of now, popsicle rivers bleed; knuckles—sticky, green— cling to handlebars. shadows stretch: thin, lean across chain-link. each blade of grass—laid down— bakes. but dusk? a match-strike: fireflies!— the yard exhales jasmine; stars prick the bruised eaves— porch swings gasp. the melted things—still writhing— pool in gutters: chalk suns, lemon peels, dreams. the silence hums. even time—soft, unspooled— beads on your neck. and summer? stays. but cooled.