Poetry Sunday: August by Ed Blair

The August heat has been close to unbearable recently. My heart goes out to those who must work outside in this weather. Indeed, even the vegetation stands "beseeching to the skies for showers...," but there seems to be no relief in sight and so we and the vegetation must endure and hope that September comes soon.

August

by Ed Blair

The August sun is pouring on the land,
His scorching rays, and vegetation stands
Beseeching to the skies for showers again
And being answered like the prayers of men.

Along the creeks the white rocks heat and glow,
As it some one had built great fires below,
And cattle stand in stagnant pools to fight
The pestering flies that trouble day and night.

In vain we look for those refreshing showers
That come so oft in Spring at call of flowers,
But clouds come to our view, then pass away,
And leave us in despair at close of day.

Comments

  1. It captures it all doesn’t it? The heat is horrifying. I read recently of an old person that fell to the ground in Phoenix,AZ into bubbling asphalt. And still we continue to explore for more oil and pump more CO2 into the atmosphere.

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    1. I really only venture outside these days to sit on my patio or next to my little fish pond, both of which are in the shade. And where would we be without our trees? And without our air conditioning which currently runs almost continuously from sunrise to sunset.

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  2. August is always such a hot month. We actually got lucky with some rain last week which cooled our temps down a bit and felt so refreshing and cool. But I'll still be glad when September comes around. Lovely poem, as ever. :D

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  3. My husband was one of those outdoor workers back in 1980 when Wichita (where we lived back then) experienced a heat wave with 42 days over 100, so my heart absolutely goes out to those who have to work outside. As bad as the Wichita heat wave was we never exceeded 112 degrees. I absolutely can not imagine what residents of some of these cities have been going through. This poem says it well.

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  4. That poem is so apt for the weather today, and the awful fires that destroyed the city in Maui. Hoping for better come fall weather. Can't wait!

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    1. Indeed. The news about Maui is just heartbreaking on many levels.

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  5. This poem about August reflects the feelings I have about the weather we are enduring.

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    Replies
    1. When I came across the poem last week, I thought, "Yes! This is us!"

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