Tucson Loop – Last Tuesday In August

The air was heavy and warm
The sky went through
Three distinct changes
From the beginning
To the end

First, it was a low
Gray ceiling
Random drops of
Sky-spittle hitting
My bare skin

Not many riders
This late in the morning
I expected more
Saw a few
Roadrunners out
Doing their chores

A few hawks were
Flying low
Trolling the riverbed
Saw one under a bush
Standing tall
Watching warily
Over its prey
I presume
I don’t usually see them
Under bushes

Next, about halfway through
The dome overhead shifted to
Large, white billowing puffs
Stacking themselves up and up
Fist-pumping the summer
Blue sky

Lastly, the dome shifted again
The white stretched out
Looking like gentle waves
Rolling on a sky-blue
Great lake

As the temperature rose
Sweat-sopping my clothes
For the end of my final
August, Tuesday ride
On Tucson’s ‘loopy side’

–LE – 8/26/25