SUMMER POEM

Heidi Woolever

The smell of rain
is running folks ragged.
They might be cats
inside a long Serengetti drought
the way they sniff the air
and peer skywards.

Up on the bandstand, horns,
still banging and booming,
All these people smiling at once!
And furthermore feeding the birds.
Who says
the slow parade of crumb throwers matters?
And doesn't it seem we have
MORE BIRDS THAN EVER!

It just goes to show
people pull animals to them.
They want three dogs on leashes
to feel themselves surrounded
by a sea of life.
They want four cats
licking paws and jumping
through the den to the kitchen
lending dignity.
They want fish, birds, snakes and horses.

We all just want to be loved, or did once.
We are the animals leashed by our leashes,
roaming about,
as the first fat drops come down.