This weekend marks the first day of summer, and the commencement of my favorite season and all of the activities that accompany this short time of year. Growing up in the Midwest, two things are certain; the winters are too long and the summers are too short. People here are tough and resilient, and during winter, if the temperature happens to rise above fifty degrees Fahrenheit, the city bursts with life. People come out of hibernation and instantly jump into summer mode. People will venture outside in shorts and T-shirts, motorcycles will roar to life, convertible tops will come down, and people will sit outdoors drinking coffee or an afternoon beverage as they soak up as much of the sun’s rays as they can get, knowing that this season goes by way too fast. We also try to cram in as much as possible during these months, which really makes time feel like it is on fast forward.
As I already mentioned, this is my favorite season, but we’re not there yet, as the days have still been lagging behind the average temperature range for this time of year. It’s been a cool, damp, and overcast April and May, so now that the temperatures (and the humidity) are starting to rise, it is a sure sign that summer is close. The expectation of this new period does more than warm my body; it also warms my heart with anticipation of the upcoming days when the temperature will stay in that blissful eighty-degree range and vitamin D levels will finally return to normal. As someone who is so often cold, I love that I can finally step outside in short sleeves and shorts or a skirt, without having to don layers of clothes and boots, shivering in my car waiting for the heated seats and steering wheel to warm my bones. I know…first world problems. I am not trying to be insensitive to those who are homeless or can’t afford these luxuries that we often take for granted. I wish everyone could feel the safety and security of a warm bed on a cold night.
This next poem pays homage to my favorite season, and is also a continuation of a theme from my first, second, and now my latest book. In my first book, “Walk Through a Field of Flowers”, there is a poem called It’s Springtime Once Again. In this poem the reader was introduced to characters such as Mother Earth, a babbling brook, chipmunks,and children out flying a kite on a warm spring day, all embracing the rebirth of the season. In “Scatter Seeds of Kindness”, my second book, these characters returned, except this time they were hunkered down trying to stay warm in Its Winter Once Again. In my most recent book, “Sow Seeds of Wisdom,” the last of the four seasons is commemorated with the poem It’s Autumn Once Again, as our friends get ready for fall, pumpkin spice lattes, football games, and glowing bonfires. In the following poem from my third book “Gather Seeds of Hope,” these characters are all back, and this time they’re out enjoying the heat of the summer, trying to soak up as much as they can, realizing that it goes by all too quickly.
It’s Summertime Once Again
The lazy days of summer
Are finally here at last.
The bitterness of winter
Is blissfully in the past.
The sun is beaming in the sky.
The temp reads eighty-five.
This is my favorite season;
I can’t help but feel alive.
The scent of freshly mowed grass
Lingers in the air.
The breeze, whisking the heat around,
Combs its fingers through my hair.
I feel it right down to my toes
As I wiggle in the sand.
Summertime has greeted me;
I take it by the hand.
Motorcycles roaring by,
Convertibles zip on past.
All the sounds of summer—
I’m so glad it’s here at last.
For winter was so brutal,
And springtime felt anew.
But the world is alive in summer;
There is just so much to do.
From picnics to a baseball game,
To hanging at the beach;
Watermelons, barbeques,
That first bite of a peach.
Mother Earth is fanning herself
As she sits beneath the shade.
She watches all the frolicking
As she sips her lemonade.
The chipmunks are so busy
Preparing their winter’s nest.
Even though it’s lazy summer,
For them, there is no rest.
The trees are standing tall and strong,
Their leaves so plush and green,
Giving shade to the babbling brook
That flows swiftly between.
The little brook flows on downstream
Babbling all the way.
Once springtime thawed her icy layer,
She had so much to say.
I hear the children’s laughing voices
Splashing in the pool,
And running through the sprinkler;
Anything to keep them cool.
The diving board is busy
As the children wait their turn,
Their little noses topped with white
To prevent a summer burn.
I pop open an ice cold beer
As the sun begins to set.
An unexpected summer rain
Makes the grass beneath my feet wet.
I feel so calm and blessed
As I try to absorb it all,
And cherish every moment,
For soon it will be fall.
-K.A. Bloch-
