Is It Ever Too Hot?

A poem about the oppressive heat this summer

Photo by James Day on Unsplash

Is it ever too hot when the sun’s fire gleams
Melting the earth in its molten dreams
When the sky is ablaze in a coppery hue
And the air is a whisper too heavy to move

Is it ever too hot when the pavement sighs
Soft beneath soles as the coolness dies
When shadows retreat too thin to stay
And trees bow low in the heat of day

Is it ever too hot when the rivers slow
Their currents a trickle their voices low
When even the night holds a sultry breath
And stars faintly flicker in the grip of death

Is it ever too hot when the world stands still
In the grip of a heat that bends the will
When the only relief is a distant storm
A promise of cool in a breaking form

Yet…in this heat life somehow finds
A stubborn strength in the harshest times
For even in fire there’s a spark of grace
A fierce resilience in nature’s face

So, is it ever too hot? Perhaps yes perhaps no
For in every blaze there’s a chance to grow
To rise from the ashes to bloom anew
For life even scorched is forever true.
— WOLRAD

(A poem from the Wolrad collection #359)