The "whir" of the fan soothes me.
The cool breeze eases my warm skin.
I stretch...searching
for that last, cold spot between
the clean, crisp, cotton sheets;
a place that waits just for me.
Today, a wave of intolerable heat,
was a warning…the sun could
melt us all without so much
as an effort, one dying degree at a time
sucking our refrigerated intolerance
up into its unforgiving flames.
Fleeing the heat, I retreat
to my room, sinking comfortably
into my bed of soft, summer solitude;
hiding under the comforts
of my favorite old, calico quilt
and the darkness of the night.
My mind wanders back...
back to a time of pure innocence:
granny's sturdy cast iron bed,
feathery down pillows and calico quilts,
days of hide-n-seek for dolly and me
amid the fresh scent of line-dried linens.
Dolly was always an eager playmate.
Her plastic smile of pink pursed lips
and unblinking starburst-blue eyes seemed
to say it all….in my little world.
Endless hours were spent teasing then taming
her synthetic blonde curls and making
new garments out of worn, weathered socks;
somehow she never complained.
Floating on slumber's cloud...I drift
between here and there, wherever that is.
Beneath tranquility's winds the
shadowy silhouette of the branches
dance on the window panes like
tiny dancers swaying to a song
under the silvery-white spotlight
of a glowing midsummer's moon.
Beckoned by its ambience,
I withdraw silently into myself,
a place where only I can go.
