Sagebrush body
I
catch fire
in the summer heat;
cover the valley
with heady incense.

Rustling,
crackling,
the downturned faces of dry leaves
suddenly bursting
into colour
motion
sound;
the last
ecstatic throws of life.

I light up
the dusty dusk of August.

You sit
rocking on your front porch,
watch me burn up.
Watch this spread,
amber glow
eating up the dry summer  bodies
of fields.
Listen,
to the foxes holler-
paws burning on hot ground.
Watch
the singed outlines of crows
gather above.

You
turn your back
travel up the stairs to bed,
draw close the curtains
as the first distant growl
grows in the sky’s throat.

You fall asleep
knowing
that I
will burn myself out
and tomorrow
there will be rain.