high summer heat

Just thoughts on a already warm early summer morning.

Early morning, and the sun has just slipped
above the horizon; casting shadows as coffee
steams and first cars sound in the distance. 

They are faint at first, only mildly intrusive, but 

becoming tumultuous as school run and rush hour 

combine; draining the soul under the guise of 

advancement for all rather than corporate servitude.

The day is already hot and ordinarily

playful and ready for the hunt, my 

Siamese cat TinTin lies somnolent, 

sloe eyed, daring me to forgo another day 

of worship to mammon; then again she is 

securely housed, (for free,)

and always fed and watered on demand.

Momentarily then, thoughts skip and the

cloudless sky becomes awash with imagery;

white sands, crystal clear blue waters, ageless,

mist shrouded mountains replete with the knowledge 

of what once was; and turning my head, I see TinTin with 

a knowing look on her pretty face. Not for nothing are cats

thought to be the smartest creatures in the animal kingdom.

And how have we come so far, yet become so far away

from the ordained order of things? The sweet fields,

green footed in spring, then burnished by high 

summer heat, before descending into autumn gold

and the welcome hibernation of winter. A world kept 

whole so our children and those as yet unborn can feast
on the ebb and flow of its beauty and a promise of 

changelessness in an age of endless change.

Reviews

[Eilis]

Hi, Beccy. I hope you’re doing well. I have always appreciated your narrative style. The way you tell a story and in doing so deliver a message. Your morning is vivid here. The human contemplating the cat and in doing so contemplating the meaning of human progress and existence. I do this often. Look at something simple and find myself on some trail of thought that is so far from what I anticipated but deeper still for the naturalness of its occurring. So the stream of thought within the poem was relatable.

It’s hard not to be thoughtful about the state of things just now. Human civilization seems to be heaving towards some darker place while the earth itself groans under our heavy hand. You’ve articulated that delicately and eloquently here. I enjoyed your poem.

[Lorry]

As technology advances, which was meant to improve our quality of life, we get farther away from the calm and the serene days of childhoods reminisced, while putting up with a little more white noise and distortion that sends us further down the rabbit hole, away from those calming sun filled days.
One thing I am sure of is that I preferred the almost rose tinted ideals of a technology free childhood and pity the millennial plus, who will only ever know it from books about the far far away, in the long ago.
They do say ignorance is bliss after all. Well they did use to at least, back in the day! 😃

[Vol]

Beccy,
Amazing, delicious poem! All I can say is... well, I could say a lot. Your voice, and style, your imagery, themes and symbols are what make this genre a worthy study, and hardly anyone masters even one or two of those elements. I am so pleased you are here...
"the ebb and flow of its beauty and a promise of
changelessness in an age of endless change."
Vol

[Brad Dehler]

This is a lovely piece. I sense it is a contemplative cup of coffee one random morning before digging into work but then the mind wanders. Wanders wonderfully about different lands and seasons. Very nice

[Gee]

You and you alone are responsible for my writing veering away from rhyming only to whatever my stuff is called now.
So easy to read, so enjoyable.
Thank you

[emmajoygreen]

Beccy, I have never known you to write an ugly poem.. cats and all! This special, beautiful, lady you.

'And how have we come so far, yet become so far away
from the ordained order of things? The sweet fields,
green footed in spring, then burnished by high
summer heat, before descending into autumn gold
and the welcome hibernation of winter. A world kept
whole so our children and those as yet unborn can feast
on the ebb and flow of its beauty and a promise of
changelessness in an age of endless change.' - that ten word final!

[Arundass TP]

Beautiful moments you have created. I am thinking about Tintin your cat. Good poem

[Ken Simm.]

This to me is atmosphere squared with beguiling hints of what used to be and what is missed so much. An effortless flow and a lovely ambience throughout with hints of many colours and layers.