some plants flower at night
blooming
  on the pollinators schedule

tonite
moon reflects the sun fully
city unburdens its concrete
  of a heat thump

some humans take the night shift
some lovers take the streets
hands publicly crammed down each other
eyes full of moon

concrete jungle heat
suffocating cityscape
~ bare feet loving grass






Mark Toney © 2021

the well is dry
i cannot collect water
i cannot sustain life

the river is swollen with toxic mud
i cannot cross to the other side
i cannot escape this

the grasslands have not seen rain in many years
the smallest spark could destroy this place
and i am awash in static

i sit under a long dead tree
and try to rest
and try to remain still

for to move is to cause a cataclysm
yet to remain stagnant is to cause my own demise

the wildlife that did not flee the drought have perished
the scavengers that came to pick apart the carcasses are gone as well

only i remain
the monarch of nothing
but bones and barren earth

Summer in the equator,
this fire burning inside me;
wounds me

I hate it
cool it down;
Now.

As sure as rain in the spring
or heat in the summer,
this year is looking promising
to be another ******.
But as sure as the cold in the winter and fall,
My friends will be there
To help me through it all.

Often travelers who start to thirst
Are greeted by a vision
Perhaps of an oasis
Perhaps maybe even a whole caravan
But although the traveler
May seem so content
His vision tempting his salivation
Throat cracking
The heat beating him down
Bones dried upon the sand
Calling for the lost prayers
From false gods