11 of 12 in the ’12 months V’ series from Jemverse
With 'Dog Days' just beginning
July the first is here
for long hot days of summer
the ones I most revere
A child of summer born and bred
these are the days for me
getting browner in the sunshine
on the beach beside the sea
[The ‘dog days of summer’ are historically the period following the heliacal rising of the star system ‘Sirius’ (known colloquially as the ‘dog star’). Hellenistic astrology connected Sirius with heat and the Greeks knew it as ‘scorcher’, a derivative transcription of the Egyptian word ‘spdt’].
And for a while the heat was quite intense
as the sun shone down from the sky
there was barely a breeze
to be felt on our knees
though the cloud to the east wasn't shy
As after a while it covered the blue
and brought welcome patters of rain
cooled us all down
as it wetted the ground
before the sun shone once again
Two squirrels playing in the tree
scurrying about
But as to who was chasing who
I think there was some doubt
Suffice to say it seemed to me
that they were having fun
as I passed by quite nonchalantly
in early May's bright sun
Small yellow in my garden
at the bottom in the sun
caught my eye this morning
now the winter time is done
I don't what its name is
but it grows here every year
yellow in Spring sunshine
so for me has purpose clear
It's there to play a rhythm
to accompany the song
that rises with crescendo
to play all summer long
There is sunshine today
and I think at long last
the Spring has awoken from slumber
as forsythia yellow
like a jolly good fellow
has blooms on its limbs in good number
And although I'll admit
there's still chill in the air
the warmth of the sunshine came through
as we walked in it slow
to meander and go
with a leisurely gait as you do
I got up early
the sun was a blaze
it didn't feel much
like a day for a laze
so with coffee inside
I ventured out there
dressed up for the chill
as I still have a care
and greeted the day
as it greeted me
the sun as a tonic
to help with the free
In spite of rest the tiredness lingers
is this getting old?
a way of nature telling me
to do as I am told?
I'm slower than I used to be
and yet when sunshine beams
I'm up and out there bouncing
so I wonder what this means
Perhaps it's just a vestige
of the malady last week
and my bones just need an airing
to relieve the sigh and creak
So I'll put my best foot forward
use that energy to free
the youthfulness that's lurking
still inside the older me
For me it's usually in the sun
when summer's kissed the sky
and I'm down upon the beach
where slow seas quietly lie
But it can be most anywhere
just need wide open eyes
so you will spot it when it's found
and not be that surprised
Having said that when you find it
that 'je ne sais quoi' there
is always quite surprising
and may catch you unaware
for sometimes it's illusive
biding time for when it's right
as when it's found it's always
there quite evident in sight
From the window of my office
looking south o'er Worthing town
a looming grey above me
told of rain soon coming down
and yet the glow beyond that
where the sea joined with the shore
told of brighter things to come
with sun shining once more
and as it turned out t'was the latter
which prevailed at end of day
November chill with sunshine
and no rain on homeward way
It rained and then
it rained some more
and the more it rained
the more I saw
as water trickled
here and there
and got in
almost everywhere
And we got wetter
wetter still
and still it rained
and rained until
it couldn't rain
more if it tried
and then the sun came
and it dried
...all about me and my life in words. I write most days, carrying an ideas book around in which I capture a word snapshot of life around me. So there's a lot here about Sussex and the sea and anything else I see that inspires.
The pictures are mine too. Some taken to match a poem; some poems written to match a pic; others chosen because they work well with words written.
Jemverse is life in words. Hope you enjoy the reading as much as I enjoy the writing...
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