tomorrow, hotter-than-hell weather will come
i won't notice until i leave work
walk out of air-conditioned comfort
into a day gone crazy with heat
no wind, no clouds, no pity
the air that rises from the asphalt
will ripple in agony, distort my vision

i wonder if the soles of my sneakers
could possibly melt at that temperature
use my shirt-tail to insulate my hand
against the branding-iron door handle

both windows must open wide to invite
whatever small breeze there might be
to sweep the heat away, allowing me
to finally clamber into the cab
of my thankfully white truck
the one that absorbs less energy
as common wisdom tells it

engine started, the A/C will kick in
and like an incantation well-uttered
invite the sweetest chill to swirl
around my hands, around my head

stereo will pick up
exactly where it stopped
louder than i remember leaving it
blasting the oldies i love
letting me slip away again
from inmates and medications
from politics and irritations
to a mental beach, where there are
lots of sea breezes, and as little talk 
as possible about the madness in our world.
                        

yes, i'm stealing the title
from one ginsberg to talk
about another. one who didn't

howl, but made plenty of noise
with a tenacity that belied
her physical stature, belied
her presumed place in a world
dominated by men, by tradition,
by exclusion. a world she saw
as a place that needed change

and went about changing it
from within the framework of
all the restrictions placed
on her, on everyone not white,
not male, not straight, not
a certain flavor, or religion

and she won. repeatedly. she
used her two most potent weapons—
her mind, and her determination
to outlast and outsmart the old guard. 
then she took a rightful place
among giants, with a grace
often absent in that orbit

okay. that's the eulogy. she's gone. 
and while conservative wolves are 
snapping at america's hamstrings
this is not the time to howl
not the time to lament
not the time to fear
this is the time to rise up
and in one grand chorus of
"not on my watch", push back

push back against the callous disregard
for the foundation she championed
push back against the flagrant disdain
for decency and democracy
push back against the erosion of all
that is good and clean and honorable

then, when the circling wolves are at bay
when equal justice is a fixed reality
then, my friend, then you and i
will raise our heads and howl