Another Hot One

The meteorologists predict another hot day
a dangerously hot one, in fact
a day they advise you to stay inside

or park yourself next to the water.
Willard Beach is jammed by 7:45 a.m.
it’s a small beach, and not as beautiful as some

but it’s close to the city and parking is free
so it fills up quickly
some days it’s so crowded

the sea softly sighs
and if you listen, you can hear the sand groaning.
This morning mothers ensure a prime spot for their broods

by staking claims with coolers, umbrellas, and beach chairs.
Runners speed by before ozone levels rise too high
outfitted with iPods and heart monitors.

Dogs sniff and run or cool off with a swim
until they’re banned for the rest of the day when 9 strikes.
A dignified rottweiler is surprised

when a tennis ball intended for another dog hits her head
but she doesn’t mind
swarms of puppies think they’ve found their lost litters.

The collie who’s hated that damn husky for years
decides he’s not so bad –
it just took him five summers of sniffing.

For thirty glorious minutes
from fifteen minutes before low tide
until fifteen minutes past

there’s really plenty of room
there’s plenty of room here for everyone.

 

 

 

About the Poet:
Sheila Wellehan’s poetry is featured or forthcoming in Chiron Review, Ekphrastic, The Fourth River, Pittsburgh Poetry Houses, Poetry East, Rat’s Ass Review, Tinderbox Poetry Journal, Unrequited: An Anthology of Love Poems about Inanimate Objects, and Yellow Chair Review. She lives in Cape Elizabeth, Maine with two cats and two dogs. Visit her online at www.sheilawellehan.com.

 

Photo by Sheila Wellehan.

 

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