Mutted sounds The city sleeps... traditional Rest...closed shutters Against the heat....skies white Blinding, implacable Brurnt, liquid: coupolas baking Through centuries of glazed splendor My lover's breath on old fashioned Sheets: starched, crip...ironed flat Our bodies recouping In the cool inner wall... welcomed presence Nary a sound...inanimate objects Enrobed in silence Languid , heavy, waiting for the shadows Announcing night's fresh enconter. Colette Anne Naegle