The yard reposes, <br />weighty and lethargic, <br />in the torrid afternoon. <br /> <br />Iridescent dragonflies <br />dance on the placid air <br />over a pool <br />of turquoise ribbons. <br /> <br />Humidity heavy on their petals, <br />the flowers droop and <br />surrender in a stupor. <br /> <br />A soaring gull seeks a cooler current <br />and rises from view. <br /> <br />Cicadas drone, sprinklers whoosh <br />and blades revolve with a racket <br />that the heat seems <br />to distance, <br />like a shimmering mirage. <br /> <br />The listless scents <br />of wilted flowers, damp towels <br />and sun screen, prowl quietly <br />like chastised pets. <br /> <br />Rolling thunder gathers <br />the smudge of distant clouds <br />towards me, <br />pledging relief, <br />and I swelter and sweat, <br />waiting for the succor <br />of the promised shower.<br /><br />Beatrice Dahlen<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/august-afternoon-2/
