Third Degree
Makena Metz
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The sun beats down on hot tiles
in our backyard. I remember when
summer was not so hot. When we hung out
by the pool, floating on inflated pink flamingos,
drinking strawberry lemonade. Coconut
sunscreen sprayed against damp,
warm skin. We did not care if we burned.
Now, the tiles hurt my bare feet
on the patio. My skin singes
like barbecued chicken, charcoal
bleeding me to bone. We stay inside,
check the news on our phones. It is too hot
for June. The world record in this area.
The water in the pool has dried up.
We sit in the air conditioning, drowning
in sizzling sweat. No one cares if the world burns
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Makena Metz has an MFA in Creative Writing and MA in English from Chapman University. Makena’s work has been published with Broken Antler Magazine, Wordgathering, PearTree Press, The Clockhouse Review, The Bitchin’ Kitsch, Strange Horizons, The Fantastic Other, Arkana, and many others. Find her work @makenametz on social media, and check out makenametz.com
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Posted in Retro Summer and tagged in #boudin, #poetry