English Breakfast
a real scorcher
gathers steam
record highs
the weather map
blazing
wildfire season
the first clothes I hung
tinder-dry
and the seasons . . .
turning the fan
to summer mode
heat haze
a hummingbird
fans the air
ninety in the shade
a glass of iced tea
sweating
cherry pits
stud the bear scat
exposed trail
the day’s heat
still rising from the stones
the whoosh of bats
first stars
we open every window
to let in the night
— Annette Makino, published in Frogpond, 48.2, Spring/Summer 2025