Thursday, July 6, 2017

Summer



In childhood,
it was always summer:
the slap of the hose on the side of the house
waking me as Grandma 
hosed down the garden
against the heat of the day.

Then she pulled down the canvas awnings
like sleepy eyelids
over the two front windows,
the cottage a bright bird,
settling down for a mid-morning snooze.

Summer,
season of lake-scent and weeping willow,
sweet pea and pinks in my grandmother's garden,
pungent in the falling dusk.
Summer,
sleepy hours reading in a canvas hammock,
and wet bathing suits on the line.
Once I swam alone during an afternoon storm,
grey lowering clouds, thunder rumbling,
a metallic odor, danger-edged,
the waves, the lake, the hills,  
all mine.

I remember it, still, the gunmetal grey
of that long-gone summer afternoon,
in the years when summer was
my grandma's house:
her steady, serene, domestic presence,
her company, her chortling,
the comfort of the bulk of her
as she showed me,
day by slow-paced summer day,
how to live.


21 comments:

  1. The way you described the relationship with grandma and summer time - youth - moved me more than I can say. This poem is special in so many ways.

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  2. I think summer was always better with grandma for me too... Love all the tastes that you bring.

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  3. "the slap of the hose on the side of the house" ... In all my life, I have had more fun with hoses and sprinklers than I ever did with pools.

    This poem is fantastic, Sherry. You're bringing back so many memories.

    I love these:

    "Then she pulled down the canvas awnings
    like sleepy eyelids"

    "sweet pea and pinks in my grandmother's garden" (sweet peas were some of the most memorable flowers of my childhood.)

    "sleepy hours reading in a canvas hammock,
    and wet bathing suits on the line."

    "grey lowering clouds, thunder rumbling,
    a metallic odor, danger-edged"

    "her steady, serene, domestic presence,
    her company, her chortling,
    the comfort of the bulk of her
    as she showed me,
    day by slow-paced summer day,
    how to live."

    Such a heartwarming, nostalgic piece.

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  4. What glorious memories and what a blessing to have such a teacher.

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  5. It sounds warm and full of love.

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  6. Loves it all! Especially riveted by your afternoon swim when the sky threatened

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  7. Your love of summer sings through your words. Thank you so much for filling our hearts with your joy.

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  8. Such wonderful images: the cottage settling down, the smell of the pinks and sweet peas...the love of your grandma makes this poem so bright and full of joy.

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  9. Grandparents and childhood summers go hand in hand!

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  10. Inevitable!

    This is link to my blog:-
    http://someunheardtales.blogspot.in/2017/07/illusion_6.html?m=1

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  11. "as she showed me,
    day by slow-paced summer day,
    how to live"

    This was my childhood, too. What wonderful memories you brought back. This is a new favorite

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  12. how easy to slip into these, your memories, and feel cradled and comforted by these stories - so vividly portrayed - reading as a stranger and yet I feel like a familiar - enveloped in the closeness of such treasured memories - a wonderful poem and thank you for reaching into your well of moments to share - a privilege to read :)

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  13. My absolute favorite of yours - it breathes - it is so alive with your words. (I saved it to my favorite poems on pinterest :)

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  15. what a lovely picture you've drawn. How wonderfully you've depicted such a warm memory. Gracias for sharing, mi amiga

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  16. This is a lovely piece! Thank you for sharing your summer with your Grandmother.

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  17. Hoses and wet bathers...I can relate to this and swimming in the summer storm . Blessed are those who grow up with gorgeous Grannies. Beautiful poem.

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  18. A lovely, lovely ending here Sherry, but I also really liked this evocative description: "... Summer,/season of lake-scent and weeping willow,/sweet pea and pinks..."

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  19. I read this one the other day and I thought it was WONDER FULL - just a fantastic bit of writing.

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  20. Sounds like a very special relationship that is etched in forever summer.

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