Melt

A poem and reflection

The Poem

August feels like a trial.
Work must go on
while underneath a heat lamp
cranked beyond its maximum setting.

Shining in freshly born sweat
just by thinking normally
the brain slowly melts
like a candle

and I become
just a husk
of my former self
as I operate in these nightmarish conditions.

In time
the sun must take a break
and let the north winds take over
in controlling the weather

only then
will the melted sections
of the mind
reform into a solid

and then begins the arduous process
of rebuilding
from stem to crown
in fall.

Come winter
the mind will be more resilient,
more capable
and more weird.

Reflection

Until recently the weather up in Buffalo has been very hot. Routinely, the temperature would get up into the mid to upper 80s, and occasionally into the 90s. These temperatures, along with a humid atmosphere and bouts of poor air quality, do not make for conducive conditions for work (I guess this is why we call this time of year the “dog days of summer”!)

I know such conditions are temporary, and soon, fall will come around. This brings not only lower temperatures, but also changes in the world such as the leaves turning from green into a vibrant array of colors.

Fall also serves as a season of reflection. By the time winter rolls around the calendar year is essentially over (this year it falls on December 21), and so we wonder, “What went well this year? What didn’t go well this year? What things would I like to try next year?” These sort of questions are something that should be always be in the back of your mind, as a way to reflect and grow (these also serve as a bit of a generalization to the waypoint questions in the weekly Momentum Muse publication).

I end the poem by saying that “the mind will be more resilient, more capable and more weird”. We should not have to contort ourselves to fit the mold that society has cast for us - rather, we should be to create our own space where we can be ourselves and contribute to the greater good of society, even if said contribution is not the traditional capitalist one.

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