The Drought

C 1989

I live here locked inside a girl’s body, unable to express my feelings, and unable to feel emotions.  Confusion sets in.  The pounding of the heat is all that is felt, and a distant cat’s meow is all that is heard.  

My body and I are sitting at the outdoor coffee table, where Grandpa is usually found smoking a cigar and drinking a beer.  Memories of the past run through my mind, as I am distracted by a distant sound of thunder.  

There is no rain in sight, and drought has set in.  The trees are dying. The grass is brittle, and the flowers are crying for rain.  The heat is so drastic I find it hard to breathe.  The roof is cracking from the awful heat.  

Ah, a moment’s relief is given by the clouds hiding the sun, and then it’s back�"ready to dry up any moisture from the day before.

Reviews

[barleygirl]

Living in mid-California where we are slowly emerging from an 8-year drought, I can relate! This also reminds me of the place where I grew up, near a 15-mile-long lake that dried up during one very bad drought. The way you use short unadorned phrasing, your staccato sound goes with a sense of staggering along, dying of thirst. Your writing features much more than just the message itself, but you paint a whole scene with your phrasing & word sounds (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[Christopher Kneipp]

Even sitting in Australia I can relate to this. good strong imagery