In Summer’s Heat

In summer’s heat, you know your car’s the spot
not to leave your puppy — it gets hot.
But other critters have unique regimes
to beat the heat. The bee, which in extremes
of mugginess, will take a swim (nice thought!) 

or thrash her wings. A lizard won’t be caught
out in the noonday sun. He’ll simply squat
in a hole or under rocks, and dream cold dreams
   in summer’s heat.

A duck undoes torridity’s onslaught
by stretching his membraneous feet. He’s got
blood vessels in them, cooled in ponds and streams.
Butterflies in flamboyant color schemes
throng puddles, puttering through the mud they’ve sought
   in summer’s heat.