Here
By the time
Winter arrives
You can hear
A collective sigh.
Relief from the heat is at hand!

Now, the warmth of the sun
Stops by for a visit
And I run to it
For a reassuring
Embrace.
Then the marine layer
Creeps in
Stealing the swagger from my bones,
Making my toes cold.

Here, we don’t really need shoes.

Here, we wait for summer to quit her rambling
And come to stay,
Because the desert cold is sneaky.
By then it’s winter again –
In your neighborhood.

It’s an endless game of hide and seek
With the seasons feet always visible behind the door.
And you thought we didn’t have them;
Seasons.

Here,
Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall
Are chameleons.
It’s annoying but lovely;
Like recognizing you love your best friend,
Or feeling the rush of exhilaration
With the faint smell of fire on
Santa Ana winds.

Weather isn’t a competition.
I won’t take your tornado
For my earthquake
For even I can smell snow.

Here, summer is coming
She sent me a postcard
From Australia
Taunting me in the garden
Reminding me to not put my coats
Away just yet.