by Craig Beaven
Put the days behind glass
and hold them there forever, this one
brought into relief
by drought and heat,
enters the museum as the hottest
and driest day of all time, even more
than 31 years ago, which was
the record. I was 5. The events
that would lead to the Brady Bill
were recorded inadvertently.
We imagine an angel with a quill pen
gazing out the window at all of history, but here
it’s Norm the Weatherman saying
we did it, beat the record going
back to 1981. News ratings are up,
everyone watching to see
how famous the day was.
Norm is keeping track.
By the end of August
everything is broken—most days
over 100, longest streak without rain,
hottest day ever. Days that will live forever
in the hall of days. When people meet our son
they say to us you got so lucky.
Here, in historic drought,
signs in front of churches say
Pray for rain. Are we asking the weather
or the clouds? We prayed
for a baby, which means we asked
that someone would get pregnant
and feel overwhelmed, would find
our agency, our name.
*****
Craig Beaven is Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Houston. Poems and reviews are out or forthcoming in Rattle, Copper Nickel, Third Coast, Southern Humanities Review, and others.
