Rattle of the Heat

That rattle split the thickened air,

a clatter sharp, a sudden jolt.

Summer leaned heavy on the porch,

the screen door’s shout cut through the dusk.

Metal grinding on rusty hinges,

a stutter in the silence of heat.

The sound cracked like dry twigs breaking,

a sudden pulse in the melting night.

I watched shadows shift and settle,

feet itching for cool ground,

but the rattle clung, a staccato beat

in the evening’s slow, sticky breath.