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After the Nap
It's a flat summer day
the sun pushes down hard
so it squeezes the color and
the juice out of everything
Her body lies between me
and the small attic window
It's hard to breathe in here
between the heat of the roof and
the warm dark curve of her side
she is turned toward the window
"Lie still," she says. "Go to sleep."
Tonight it will rain
When the window is dark
sharp jagged lightning will flash
outside the screen
where mosquitoes come and go
Loud claps of thunder will crack open
the sky like an eggshell
I might be able to see through
into morning!
Big fat splats start
to pat on the roof
gradually increasing
comforting in their irregular melody
Thunder gone
lightning gone
the roof is slowly
stretching and cooling
Copyright ©
Elizabeth Mccann
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