wildscape. literary journal

This Midsummer Momentary Pause
by Mercedes Lawry

Rain as mockery, as descent,
drought as sublimation.
This late July, swallowed exhaustion.

This midsummer momentary pause.
Birds with no time to waste,
towhees, finches, ubiquitous crows.

Wisdom evaporates to water spots,
to shadows stuck in trees,
to nothing less than wanting, disturbance
of dreams, perplexing as weather.

Even a small wind has echoes.
Even a parched rose has grace.

about the author // Mercedes Lawry

Mercedes Lawry’s (she/her) most recent book is Small Measures from ELJ Editions. She’s also published Vestiges from Kelsay Books, three chapbooks and poems in journals such as Nimrod and Alaska Quarterly Review. Additionally, she’s published short fiction and stories and poems for children.

BlueSky: @mercwrites.bsky.social