High Pressure

The high temps we've been experiencing and the number of deaths due to the heat make me realize I am so lucky in any number of ways. 

High Pressure

Heat smothers the days,

                         the wind chimes silent.

         Mirages scuttle away useless.

The scorpion sting of summer threatens

           me in a cabin without AC,

     a get-away deep in the north woods.

In cramped flats and in single-wides

neglected neighbors sweat in silence,

count on modest fans to provide 

                                               the remedy.

But when small blades do not stir enough

      air, I purchase something bigger

with nary a thought for those who cannot.

  The disabled, the elderly living alone

in airless lodgings suffer another misery

      and privilege buys me ignorance. 

Marilyn Aschoff Mellor