ALICE SANFORD

★ ★ ★ ★

POETRY

Image by Bernard Hermant

Making Do in Summer

We can make do with so little . . .
And how carefully we gather what we can . . .
From “Winter Sun” by Molly Fisk

Filtered through white curtains,
              Light floats cooler, more
Comforting somehow,
              As if it’s promising,
“I won’t make you sweat,”
And, if that sounds good,
              It’s because the heat
From cooking lunch
              Beaded sweat on everyone, so now
We crave only drinks,
              Iced drinks, not barbecue, not any food.

Every hint of wind wafts
              A small kindness, as heat-wrung
Breezes billow curtains,
              Bathe our bodies, pat us dry.
Ice cubes clink on teeth.
              Sweet liquid swirls down
Silent throats. We’re waiting,
              And, for now, this will suffice:
Coolness of air in softened light,
              A little stillness in the heated day,
Friendship with no need of words.