The heat is oppressive like stepping out
into suffocating silence
like the oven is turned on too high
and the buildings are caving in.
We spend our Sunday inside
reading fiction and memoirs
sipping everything from
rose gold iced lattes
to iced teas to
lavender Italian sodas
to cucumber water –
anything to distract us from this unbearable heat.
We spend the evening
wondering what to do next
We go back and forth from this or that
like we always do
until we finally settle on an expensive dinner.
Why not splurge, we’re young and fun, I say
We order calamari and cucumber cocktails
The sun starts to go down
but the heat still lingers in the air
as if trapped in a glass snow globe
We have salmon and cod on fish shaped plates
and the drinks loosen our tongues
so we can speak on the things
that are really weighing us down.
These are the experiences worth splurging on –
when we feel like we’ve made a connection
an excavation a true listening and understanding
a reckoning and supporting.
We’ll walk back home hand in hand
as the sky turns to violet fire
and the sailboats will sway
and the sweat still lingers on your upper lip
and on the back of my neck
and our wallets feel lighter
and our stomachs feel fuller
and our heads feel buzzier.
We will remember this day for how hot it was
and remember how we drank almost everything
but actual water
and we will go to bed thirsty
and naked
still finding some body part
to hold on to even when it feels like
fire.
Mermaid Musings 