Shadows; After the Solstice

 

Summer Solstice

Shadow strikes

without warning.

Rusty barbed wire

wound tight like a crown –

Ambiguous words slung

in the wake of a fiery sun

demonstrate intent to harm.

 

I have learned to stay awake

to this darker side

of human nature:

Keep my eyes to the ground,

Protect my heaped up heart,

Listen – separate this from that.

Temper my judgment.

My dove reminds me

that these barbs will pass

like the power of a

bitter orange sun.