The Heat

The heat came

as it always did

tanning the fields a gorgeous gold

ripening avocados and tomatoes.

The heat came

and drew the Sunset residents out

into the warmer bays and lakes

where the marine layer cannot find them.

The heat came

and sweaters left

stored in garages and under beds

where rats could nest comfortably in cashmere.

but the heat stayed too long too long too long too long too long too long

it dried out the reservoirs, lakes, streams, farms, hills, gutters, pools, fountains, soil, leaves, us

and it still stayed and it stayed and it stayed and it stayed and it stayed and it stayed and it stayed

And so I ran North

following the wet rumors

Yet…

The heat followed me

burning farm fields and forests between San Francisco and Crescent City

sending white and gray plumes of smoke into the air above my White Ford Focus

leaving the taste of charcoal grills in my mouth after I swallowed through tears.

The heat followed me

passed the Oregon border and the hipster infested Portlandia

clearing the mountain ranges of emerald pregnant with last season’s rain child

ending in the Pacific North West where it dissipated into the mist.

I lost the heat

somewhere between Federal Way and Everett, which evergreens towered over the freeways,

walling off the roar of tires from the houses of plaster and wood

I lost the heat

that November as the steady stream of mist and rain moisten everything in sight,

feeding the wild vegetation and keeping the state a healthy green

I lost the heat

that December as flavorless ICEE flakes fell onto my sunburnt skin and ease my throbbing brow

as I tested this new phenomenon with the bottom of my feet

But the heat caught me

in the May of that year,

when I was least expecting it,

the rains stopped and slowly the earth turned brown

trees drooped and weeds died and the smoke came.

The smoke came

The heat caught me

and I was burnt up in its embrace.