Tuesday, August 06, 2019

August

August 6th, 2019


August

by Lizette Woodworth Rease

No wind, no bird. The river flames like brass.
On either side, smitten as with a spell
of silence, brood the fields;  in the deep grass,
edging the dusty roads,lie as they fell
handfuls of shriveled leaves from tree and bush;
but long the orchard fence and at the gate,
thrusting their saffron torches through the hush,
wild lilies blaze, and bees hum soon and late.
Rust coloaured the tall straggling briar, not one
rose left.  The spider sets its loom up there
close to the roots, and spins out in the sun
a silken web from twig to twig.  The air
is full of hot rank scents.  Upom the hill
Drifts the noon's single cloud, white, glasring, still.

We are well into August, and the hot, hot days that make it such a sultry month.  

The routine seems to be to keep the house cool, the garden well watered, 
and to find a shady spot out back for a late afternoon cooling drink
and a light read to go with it!

I start the day while it is still cool(ish)
in the loom room
threading the Glimakra, -

that weaving task that requires the most concentration
and morning is the time
most suited to my easily distracted
ninety-four year old brain!!!

A few bookish chores to do
on the computer
(bill paying day)
and I am ready to relax,
somewhere shady,
away from August's sulphurous heat,
where I can watch the butterflies
and the big fat bees,
and the hummingbirds,
as they delight and gorge themselves
on all the sunny late summer
flowers.




The weather man says
each day this week
will be warmer than the last,
and we will have to wait until Saturday
for refreshing showers.

Still, the village is full of happy, hot
vacationers.
Over the long August week-end
the usual pancake breakfast,
a wondrous car show
(I hear from those who attended), -
a reunion of the
Sober Motorcyclists

and the Ashnola valley
full of happy campers..
in the woods beside the creek,
dipping their toes and their fishing rods
into the water,
for all it has to offer....

(minnows, small trout, and tingling toes)

Oh August, what's but to love you....

But I love September more.......




1 comment:

Hill Top Post said...

Today was certainly one of those hot sultry August days. We are climbing towards 100 degrees next week. Ugh! I enjoyed the poem line about the spider’s silken thread sinceI have been doing some spider watching. I hope you will come over to my new blog at hilltoppost.com to read about it. Sadly my old blog had some serious issues and had to be shut down.