The September Heat

By Sasha Schoen

The September heat makes my skin melt.
Each drop of sweat slowly snowballs until
the entire sheet of skin on my back drips
off my spine into a puddle of sludge.
Liquefied dermis drenches my shoes.
The calendar says Fall. Mother Nature says
otherwise. The sea salt caramel
ice cream I spill down my chin
resembles the coastal air, thick and briny.