four haiku with a tanka couplet

her nightgown slips

past her hips

as she steps toward him

*

her skin cool

beneath the sheets

simmers at his touch

*

a fan rattles

over tangled sheets;

cicada pulse the heat outside.

*

she wakes before dawn,

and slips from bed,

leaving him alone

*

like rain in drought, we

desire what remains

(July 8, 2019)