Eating up the Summer

I got myself coke in a glass
dunked some ice cubes
watched them sigh and sink
rubbed the sweat off my neck
and then dragged the armchair
into the backyard

It was hot
the thermometer had sluggishly
climbed to 39 degrees even before noon
and long blades of grass
stood perfectly still
praying for a breeze

With each sip the sweat came
gushing out relentlessly
trickling down the nose, thighs, elbow
and the back of the neck,
even rubbling the cold glass on my cheeks
didn't bring a sigh

Somewhere a radio blasted
croaking out missing signals
and a clear voiced song,
water trickled from a cracked pipe,
the clothesline sagged and fat flies
lay dead, belly up and legs spread

Summer tasted nice
the backyard was a toast,
the last drop of coke was dead
and the ice cubes shrunk to salt
there were no birds, no insects or flowers
every second was so bright and dying