Montegrey
Chill wraiths ooze between
pine-pelted mountain tops.
Damp mist scarfs boat masts,
digs pointed claws into arthritic joints.
Pallid light reveals drizzle.
Old bodies ache.
As triple digit heat
desiccates Central Valley,
coastal fog rolls ashore,
bejewels drooping hydrangeas
with delicate droplets.
Backyard roses rehydrate,
thirst slaked by cooling miasma.
Elsewhere, climate-changed summer simmers.
Glaciers melt; forests burn.
Here, bleak greyness, drippy morning.
Curdled sky triggers pain, sucks away joy,
portends poisoned earth,
polluted air, undrinkable water.
We are our own worst enemy,
value profits greater than life.
August 2021
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