july

July re-immersed us in this languid heat,
Keeping still this
Smell of pheromones and something rotting.
Like salt and a base need
I was so afraid
You could smell it on me.

I gingerly pick up my
Brandied apricot tea
It's so fragrant and warm
And seems to prefer me and stays
I think the apricot covers the salty desires nicely.

This teashop is seeming more like a cliché each second
With Hemingways and overpriced ceramic and pastries
Which are dry and only okay
Come quickly, so that we may leave quickly,
Before we freeze in this cliché too.

I can already feel second guesses
Draping themselves over me and whispering
Maddening consolations in my ear.
Move quickly, I beg of you.
In the meantime, I will stave off
These subversive thoughts.

Hurry and take away
This subtle, melancholy tinged
Sunday afternoon.
I think of you the way a stern mistress does
Her second lover
Not quite perfection but
Enough charm to shut up
The screaming under my skin for now.

**