HOT FLASH

I’ll bet you didn’t know that mice have hot flashes.

For the life of me
I can’t see
Why these heat waves
Have to be!
I’m tired of them
At night it’s
Cover on
Cover off
Cover on…..

Now and then
One blasts me by surprise
In a nanosecond!
I jump straight up in bed.
Someone please
Close that incinerator door!

Some start warm
And crescendo
Like a gentle groundswell.
They’re the “Is it hot
Or is it me?” ones.

I think
There’s an ember burning
Somewhere.
Hey! Who’s building that campfire
Inside my torso?
Call Smokey the Bear!
Oh, a bonfire is it?
Like where everybody
Warms up nicely
Then stays too long
And cooks their flesh?
My body parts want to
Fly apart and run.
But they’re sewn together
And a suffocating heat
Is taking over
My arteries -
Even in my feet, for Pete’s sake!

Sometimes
It starts
When I’m cuddled
In a blanket
On the couch
Too comfortable to move.
Kick the blanket.
Maybe it’ll stop.
That’s a fantasy.
I explode in flames.

I don’t own
Pretty, fluffy, thick
Sweaters.
I squirm in and out
Of lightweight layers
Over and over and over
Every single day.

Don’t forget to
Remove the coat
Before driving.
Even in zero weather
With windows down
The coat must go.
Strapped in a seat belt
Sweating
Praying for a red light
Wiggling as fast
As a thick coat allows.
Getting one arm
Half-way out…
Elbow’s stuck
Light turning green
Damn!