Heat was barely bearable
even here that summer
it was out of the question
to put ice-cubes in the glasses.
Unfathomable, how the south
had chased us, surely we
had not been cautious enough
and hadn’t seen it at our heels.

My bottle of Jack handy,
clean glasses in the cupboard
but no ice-cubes in the freezer
since none would survive anyway
long enough to dive into liquid,
rough diamonds melting fast;
sublimation can be quick
when dog-days hit hard.