The heat has been oppressive.
The steamy air thick in my nostrils,
bugs seem to be the only things
that are out and about.
Mosquitoes prosper in bits of rain water

left unturned from pots undiscovered.

At night the cicadas are deafening,
but comforting to me, as I stand
in darkness knowing the quietness of winter
will soon deafen me in another way.
But this morning as I walked around, I again was
moved by shadows ...this lonely sunflower
admiring its own, cast on the deck...
soon it will be plundered by Goldfinches
as will the marigolds and cone flowers.
Signs everywhere...foreshadowing
that summer is waning.