night simmers
august hot
dust-drowned brown
and gasping
harsh
rattlesnake winds
breathe through
cricket wings
singing hymns
they gleam
flying green
on the riding breeze
river things
slither, swing and swim
as the rains begin
sliding slipshod
down the dust and dry
the rusted rowans
trickle clean in
quicksilver strings
startled whispers
of rustling light
and elusive dreams
_____________________