When a Heatwave Strikes
heat is on a mission
it is stealth
it creeps in
slow, before sunrise, undetected
(at first)
it sneaks its way
through cracks left unfilled
it eventually slithers and snakes
into open spaces
–right in broad daylight–
it expands exponentially
uncoils and hisses
looks to lunge
to sink its teeth into salty, sweat marinated flesh
a retreat to shade won’t help
it knows
it knows…
it knows
it knows…
there is no relief
there is only triage:
fans whirring full blast
air conditioners laboring loud
ice melting in desperate hands
there is no way out
there is no place to run
there is only hope to survive
whenever a heatwave strikes
18 thoughts on "When a Heatwave Strikes"
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Exactly! I keep fans on me from 3 different directions in my bed at night. Only way to go.
The multi-directional approach is the best way. No doubt about it. Stay cool, Kevin! Thanks for reading. : )
I read “triage” as rage and that is also true for how I’ve felt ever since I knew this heat was coming! I love the image of heat creeping in before sunrise like a terrible criminal because that is exactly how it goes x_x
I now prefer “rage” as the verb for that moment in the poem. I’m totally into summer, but I am in LOVE with winter. I live for the cold. I like the heat when I’m near water– the ocean, a river, a lake. The horrific heat is a criminal of comfort, for sure. Thanks for reading, Arwen!
So frickin’ appropriate for today (and yesterday, presumably tomorrow). It knows.
Thanks, Bill. We’re ROASTING up here in NY! We literally had 63 degrees an raining last week.
A great image for the feel of a heat wave!
Thank you, Linda! We’re having quite the time up here in NY. Stay cool.
great description of deadly heat:
it sneaks its way
through cracks left unfilled
it eventually slithers and snakes
into open spaces
–right in broad daylight–
it expands exponentially
uncoils and hisses
Heat here in Brooklyn is brutal. Will employ Kevin’s method to aid my “laboring” window unit.
May the wind blow cool for all!
I know that heat well. 🥵 NYC always has a heat dome over it. Oof. Unreal.
I like how the heat creeps into the poem. Isn’t that the way it is? Love the “no-way-outness” of the poem. I love it that heat is given a voice! Great writing!
Thanks so much, Linda! Yes, there is no way out except through with this heat. Thank you for reading. Stay cool!
Wow !! Between the title and the first lines I melted in.
Yes great writing !!!
The heat is given a voice,
“–right in broad daylight–”
And the altered echo of the title boxes us in so we can sit and sweat in it.
Great poem.
Thank you, Coleman! Be sure to hydrate; wouldn’t want you to melt away before creating more of your beautiful poems! Thank you so much for your kind words and for always reading my writing. Stay cool out there!
A great poem to address our weather-related distress lately! I love the word “triage” in the poem. It has so many layers, and it came as a surprise for me. A bit of dark humor at our heroic attempts to fight the heat battle.
Thank you, Sylvia! Yes, “triage” indeed. It’s like a battlefield or an E.R.– we just received a mass alert text from our electric company to try to “conserve energy” out of concern for the power to go out. We have at least three more days of this coming our way. Dark humor will help us get through. Thank you so much for reading. Stay cool!
The personification here is fantastic—heat as a predator, lurking and inevitable. “Salty, sweat marinated flesh” is so visceral, and the sense of helplessness at the end is palpable. You make the everyday battle with heat feel epic and inescapable.
Thank you, Dana! Yes, the heat sure is a nasty predator when it wants to be. Thank you for reading and for sharing such generous feedback.