“when I think of winter” by Suzanne Eaton


the heat of the sun beats down
on my skin and sweat beads up on my brow
no breeze brushes the surface
no shade reaches to buffer
my breath is hot out—hotter in
air is heavy and thick and bumps into
my face one layer at a time
like a huge culvert of dry heat is squeezed
from a giant cookie press that never runs out
–just pushes hot delirium at me.
another day of parched skin, burning flesh
cells thickening to protect yet aging exponentially
I lean on hot brick in case I faint
and I think of winter


Suzanne S. Eaton is an author and marketing consultant. She has written many corporate stories and marketing materials. She authored “Chinese Herbs,” and has written for various magazines and anthologies. Most recently, Down in the Dirt Magazine, Writer Shed Stories, Seaborne Magazine, The Purpled Nail, The Silent World in Her Vase (TSWHV), Scarlet Leaf Review, and Rue Scribe have selected her work for publication.