The wind sings through the fence,
tousles daisies, sends waves
of wheat-colored shimmer
through otherwise green grasses,
lends a gentle respite from the heat

We work on tasks for the mind —
how to see things, how to count,
what to count as real, what counts,
cicadas keep us company –
the welling and receding of their song
is counterpoint to trees’ rustle
and drone to melodies
of distant birds.

©Wendy Mulhern
June 13, 2019