Essence of Summer

In spite of this stifling heat
the yellow squash blossoms again
delicate golden trumpets
greeting a watercolor dawn sky
as lizards gather on the garden stones
waiting for their early feast of beetles
racing from the sprinkler’s path
to meet an early demise

Honeybees dip fragile wings and hairy feet
in shallow colorful birdbaths,
drinking this precious fluid,
for here in the vast southwest
each body of standing water
no matter how small serves a purpose
refreshing life and quenching
the thirst of the tiniest of creatures

Later when the sun is crackling and frying,
the brave garden stills and quiets
with nothing but the sound of cicadas
singing in the canopy of the mesquite
a steady hum ringing in the halcyon air
and now the creatures in the garden
seek welcome shade and at last, sleep

©2021 Linda Lee Lyberg