---

The young leaves dried up and the branches snap,

The last of Spring’s brittle bones.

Uneven clay cracks underfoot

Vicious light reflects on the stones

Accosts from above and now below

White tendrils of heat tease into tangible form

Cracked lips raise an empty cup

A reasonable fear becomes bold

And Summer wrings its’ chokehold

Weary feet tread down a steep animal track

Brambles clinging to flesh

Down into the ravine

Low lying shrubs greedily lean over a lonely reservoir

Beneath a fall now dry

Wary animals scamper away but not far

Nymphs long to take flight

Some shade beneath those branches

Shakey hands splash the cool water

A final respite while the season dies