heat

after a summer storm, the water rises in slow streams of steam.
the sun reappears and claims its mantle in the sky
as dark clouds make a fast retreat.

memories are like the summer rain.
they pour down in sudden torrents,
leave the mind remembered,
and quickly leave, almost but not completely invisible.

the longing has been gone for a long time.
the memories i had shut up, shackled deep in the dark places.
i shut out your smell, destroyed the pictures, hid the letter.

but the song could not be forgotten.
it lingers, in cd's. on the radio. in my voice.

these are the scars of the massacresof heart break.