Heat Wave
/Heat wave grips the land
Ruthlessly infuses the earth
With its thermal energy
Even at dawn
Warmth from the night
Still lingers
As sun rises
Heat grows fiercer
Mercury creeps up
Inside a toasting oven
Lives are under siege
Helplessly they endure
Heat penetrates everywhere
Even into shaded places
Where cooling doesn’t exist
Bodies can only bear so much
When overwhelmed with torridness
Cells vainly scream murder
Nature indifferently watches
Mortal beings surrender
To the silent killer
By Shih-Fang Wang
From: United States