Summertime Christ

May we be a small witness

Of you, here,

In this fierce and artful summer

When sweat finds pathways

Down backs and legs

And the brown grass

Becomes a crisp and brittle reminder of greener days

Here, when the shimmering heat

Swipes at the skin

And saps our quick energy 

Leaving a thick pulse of a slow, wide day baking 

We look upon the glowing world

With awe and trembling 

Christ of the summertime 

Of dragonflies and darting skinks

Of cicadas serenading deep purple sunsets

And of the timid hope that night might, just might, 

Usher in some cool -

For these hot bodies sprawled,

And the stifled land:

We hold our breath, 

We wait

Christ

Land traveller 

Place dweller

Song bringer 

May we breathe a little lighter

Walk a little longer 

Gaze a little wider

Knowing you are here

Alongside and deep within 

This, the deep long summer