Poetry Sunday: Peak Summer by Eric Nixon

We are certainly in "peak summer" here in Southeast Texas. The days are long, hot, and humid, and yet on some mornings when I first venture outside there is a breeze and a freshness to the air that promises an end to this our most unpleasant and longest season. "Hold on," it seems to say, "autumn is coming."
Peak Summer
by Eric Nixon
We’re steeped deep in summer
And everything around me
Seems to indicate it’ll never end
But still I’m spending time
Looking for the subtle signs
Trying to figure out when
We’ve reached peak summer
When the billion green trees
Start to dull ever so slightly
When the bounty of vegetables
Found at all the local farm stands
Start thinning in quantity and quality
When the Halloween candy
Appears in the supermarkets
And the Back To School! signs
Show up in the big box stores
When the sun sets a little earlier
And gets a little more noticeable
Each night, night after night
Until you start thinking about
How much daylight you’ve lost
All of the signs and all of the things
I’ve been noticing are telling me
That we’re right in the midst of
Peak summer and if I’m not careful
It’ll be completely over
And I’ll have missed it entirely
As the season folds into fall

Comments

  1. David M. Gascoigne,August 25, 2019 at 4:09 AM

    There is just a hint of fall here too. September is almost upon us after all.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersAugust 25, 2019 at 9:37 AM

      Our fall usually begins sometime in October when the heat finally relents a bit.

      Delete
  2. Judy KruegerAugust 27, 2019 at 10:17 AM

    Good one. I watched those signs like a hawk when I was a kid because I loved summer and hated school!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersAugust 27, 2019 at 10:47 AM

      Signs of the coming fall are most welcome in this corner.

      Delete

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