summer in the anthropocene

Dry grasses
crackling under our feet,
cloudless skies
bursting above our heads.
Birds resting in shades,
mouths open,
and chickens halting their regular egg schedule for the heat.
Seeds dropping from pods,
texturing the yellow landscape.
Frogs gathering at dawn
closer to the last ponds -
I hear them sing,
intertwined with mosquito dances
around my hair
as I water a thirsty garden.
The storks don't leave anymore.

It feels like mid-summer now,
probably is.
As desertification claims its presence
year after year,
our resilience is evoked
and local folk knowledge is called upon.
We must give back.
We must tend.

And I still surrender and bend,
the beauty is so palpable,
as the sun darkens my skin further
and the earth dirts my knees furthe,
and my reverence grows fonder
of home
of native plants
of other-than-human people
with so much to learn from.

This is my pledge.
This is my allegiance 🌾