July 17 - July 22 Week 18/72
I am buoyed by the beauty
of a small milkweed bug
perched on the center of a daisy
disc flowers marching like soldiers
in spiral formations beneath it
as I sink into a bed of soft clover
taking a break from the heavy air
that is caught in my throat and wrapped
around every limb adding weight to even
the smallest movements since the red dawn
my fingers move down through the clover
seeking cool soil like eager earthworms
only to be greeted by powdery dryness
and heat that seems to be escaping
from the center of the Earth