all life moves slow

the coldest blood lives on the hottest days
all that is hidden lives within the shade
we don't expect them all out on parade
serpent and scorpion fear those searing rays
there's something evil looming in the haze
heat makes the best of us sober and staid
but beasts move slowly up the slightest grade
most life goes on unnoticed by our gaze
these numbers mean so little till we feel
the weight of sunlight on our naked heads
and note the silence of this afternoon
a little time outside and we would reel
our minds recalling the most ancient dreads
there's greater madness now than under moon