Writers' Pantry #87 Summer is winding down in my world. I've written an homage to country summers as I recall them. I really think they haven't changed a good deal over the years! Submitted to Poets & Stoytellers United, September 19, 2021.
COUNTRY SUMMER
Unforgiving heat and humidity
steals your breath and
leaves you without energy
like an inert dryad
clinging to an autumn leaf
Ears hang heavy on the cornstalks
tomatoes, plump and red in the garden
magenta grapes cluster on the vine
pumpkins destined for jack-o-lanterns
dot fields awaiting hopeful children.
Cattle group under shade trees
or stand in streams for relief
birds begin to gather for migration
in obsidian rows on phone lines, or
flying in undulating formations
Farmers prepare for harvest
their tractors join country traffic
and roads become a parade
in familiar processions accepted
by summer travelers
Thunderstorms and lightning
make way for picnics and watermelon
county fairs and festivals
family reunions and church suppers
It’s summer in the country
i loved the rhymes and the snippets of imagery of each stanza.
ReplyDeletesummer seems like a lazy time, yet it is time to prepare to reap the rewards of all that hard labor.
Beautifully conjured Beverly - the following stanza caught me especially:
ReplyDelete" Cattle group under shade trees
or stand in streams for relief
birds begin to gather for migration
in obsidian rows on phone lines, or
flying in undulating formations
- So redolent...
This is a beautiful homage to country summers, Bev. You are correct, they haven't changed much, at least in my world. This past summer in the country was almost as you've captured in your poem. :)
ReplyDeleteAn inert dryad clinging to an autumn leaf describes my attitude of this summer very well. I'm glad cooler weather is setting in. We have serious drought conditions where I live. It hardly rained all summer.
ReplyDeleteSo sorry. I know drought conditions are becoming critical in certain western areas.
DeleteSummer is such a delicious time: the scents, the tastes, the sounds, the sights, and the people. I love the points your poem makes about community. I miss that... about country-living.
ReplyDeleteIt gets very hot here in Kansas. The Canada geese and the ducks seek out the tree in the park that provides the most shade and hide under it.
ReplyDeleteYou've described the winding down around here perfectly! Absolutely down to the birds on a wire, swooping in flocks, gathering steam. I enjoyed this.
ReplyDeleteI know firsthand and appreciate all the images of summer you've shared here, Beverly. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI love all these rich details. I now live in a small town. While it's in the middle of a rural district, it's not quite the same as being right in the country myself. But I did live in the country for some years, when younger, and you could be talking about country Australia.
ReplyDeleteStunning imagery. This was so well structured
ReplyDeleteNice description of country life
ReplyDeleteSummers are hot and sweaty, autumns are the best. You reminded me of stacking straw behind the thrashing machine, Dad had me doing that in the hot. My BDay is at the end of October (30) so fall is running away time for me. Since we have married Mrs. Jim always runs with me.
ReplyDeleteBarely There Barry? I had trouble fitting him in, the second time you read it you saw my feeble attempt. He might deserve his own write.
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I especially like that last stanza. So nostalgically memorable.
ReplyDeleteIf I did not know better I would swear we were raised together!! Love this, Bev!
ReplyDelete