Siesta (Poetry)

Heat sweeps the people
out of the street
in through dark doorways
to find shady rest
and lie down in cool bedrooms
in partial undress
while the molten sun scorches
the light-bouncing pavement
outside

The town hides its sleepers —
its catnapping couples
who whisper sweet nothings
then drift into dreamland
the whimpering babies
chew soft on their fingers
and grandfathers dozing
who mumble to grandmas
long-dead

The afternoon tiptoes
as shadows are inching
sly round the corners
and faint are the snores
of the dog and his master
observing tradition
until the spell breaks
all those sleepers awake
and the day just goes on
as before