Triple digit Central Valley heat
pulls a foggy blanket over bleak shoreline,
fills silver skies with gloomy faux clouds.
Drizzle spatters parked cars,
streaks window panes, saturates
joggers’ soggy jackets and shoes.
Delighted sparrows drink their fill
from puddles beneath freighted fuchsias.
Passing dogs display damp fur, muddy paws.
Gray seaside summer impersonates winter,
obliterates sunlight, instigates icy winds
that blow inland, bite to the bone,
Jennifer Lagier has published thirteen books and in literary magazines, taught with California Poets in the Schools, co-edits the Homestead Review, helps coordinate Monterey Bay Poetry Consortium Second Sunday readings. Newest books: Scene of the Crime (Evening Street Press), Harbingers (Blue Light Press), Camille Abroad (FutureCycle Press).
