In The Forest

The heat and humidity sizzles
with the unrelenting ferocity
of late summer in the city. In the
verdant haven of an urban forest
a still hush hangs on the atmosphere.
The saturated landscape's glowing
green interior hosts not so much
as a timid breeze stirring the 
limpid air. Shafts of sunlight
stab through gaps in the
shielding canopy where birds
flit about the sea of foliage.
A haze of bright moisture
curtains the distant view. Ferns
furl their presence on the forest
floor. White baneberry punctuates
the monopoly of green. Asters
and goldenrod flourish as an
understory below the massive
old maples, oaks and pines on 
this steamy late summer
afternoon in the urban forest.