Dianna L. ZIMMERMAN

A SAVIOR'S SUNBURN

Rubbing emollient molecules on his face
to absorb the sun's rays would protect him
from doom and her, he concluded,
so every morning the slather
but each night brought the downpour -
surviving by these protective, intangible rituals
while the four resident stray canines
were crazy driven
by the stench of the neighbor's
barbequing meat, each sizzle a torment.
He tried to explain to them about the
light-absorbing molecules,
but they refused to listen to his advice -
just walked in the sun all day
like a roaming pack of amnesiacs.
And so unheard, and in observance of custom,
he abdicated, going to her -
the citizen of the secret storm.

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