sensations; the hour unspoiled

dry, heat

chalky dirt under bare feet

the wind breathes over you like an oven,

freeing its contents as you stoop to meet them

there’s not one drop of water on your skin

the air is heavy

with this summer feel

the world at a standstill, just watching as

the thunderheads drift by

on the barest hint of breeze

it picks up, shifts your dress around your thighs

and you grip the hem tight

crumbling into the cracked earth below

where the thick desert air would catch you

it feels like a moment that might come when you're not looking for it, one that surprises

with how good it feels just when you thought you'd hate it

the world is dried up and wrung out and you walk, toes pressed to the ground

expecting at any moment to be pulled away

but the day lets you stay

so you stay, quiet, look to the sky and marvel that you can breathe this empty air

the sun scorches, but you stand sheltered

in a shady oasis, borrowed from gray behemoths above

untouched, yet, but you can feel the annihilating wave

coming

just hide here, let this moment exist

it's still in memory, paused somewhere between the more terrible things

just bask here, linger in this

like waiting for a thunderclap, silence brittle, ready to crack

just stop here, leave me with this

i'll lie in dust and wait for

the drop of rain that wakes me