Day 28: The Shade

I've been paying attention recently, 

looking for inspiration, searching

for meaning, trying to find

shade from the ___

The other night, slightly south 

of DC, I listened as my husband's

friend Matt spoke of the shade

in Vietnam.

Not the war. 

The country.

As he and his family - 

wife, daughter, son - 

visited family - 

aunts, uncles, so many

cousins. They took a break

in the shallow-mountain country-

side, each filled with alters

to a greater god.

"On the way there," he recounted, 

"We stopped in a small village just south

of the foothills."  He paused, considering

his travels, recalling in his mind the polaroid

he carefully crafted for us.

"It was February, but hotter than any summer 

I have known.  So we were in shorts. T-shirts.

But, because it is an indication of class - 

whether or not you have a tan - 

everyone we passed wore long sleeves.

Pants. Hats. Even in the unbelievably hot

weather."

"Max was 4 then and he ran to play

in the shade with the other kids, all carefully

covered." 

I guess we all adapt.

Day 17: Lobject’s Shade

The smallest navy baseball hat

is still too big to fit, but it shades

my fair baby when he scrunches

his eyes at the light, matches

daddy’s, is good for teething too

Day 8: Pobject's Shade

Underneath the canopy the rainwater pools
in bowls with tree-root ribs.
The water draws the mayflies and mosquitoes
in a gloamy mist of
diaphanous wings. We will not linger here,
though the sun will bake our necks
and burn our breath. Was it only weeks ago we wished
for summer to arrive?