Indian Summer

In summer's slice of life's pie,
heat beats down, both wet and dry,
ov'r valleys, which I call my childhood home.
Insects pitch a welcome note, the constant cry,
and chirrup of the songbird's voice,
that'll startle the stillness of the air below.
Lo, and behold, a cooling breeze doth begin to blow.
And my friends, and I, with our faces beet-red,
would race breathlessly, on our sweaty legs.
And when the breeze stops, and the drought catches on,
we'll huddle by the school's fountain---a flock of fawns,
resting by the holy Ganges, to ward off the jungle heat.

On asphalt roads, shiny bicycles squeak,
carrying mercy in myriad shapes of icecream.
Cola, lemon, orange bar we had so many choices,
to savour amongst the loud street noises.
Pot-holled water traps the cars and trucks,
and splashes pedestrians with streams of mud and dust.
Horns honk endlessly under June's hysteria,
hatched in these ponds, arrives the Malaria,
hand-in-hand with the anticipated summer rains,
over the plains,
that stretch out like tiger skin,
where delicate greens reach out their fingers from within,
the earth core.
Before the men shall reach out and snap their wrists off,
collecting the gore
in their metal troughs.

In the rusty lands, the greens stand out
Bulbous melons, mangoes, and apricots.
And we welcome those succulent and juicy
delights, that'll impart a sense of quasi-
freshness to sickly hot summer nights,
that crouch in wait for the sound of Indra's maddening thunder,
to rip the skies asunder.


Come July, the rains will arrive to scour
the dust, and the heat shall dehisce.
Monsoons will arrive with a cooling shower,
but the summers would be missed.

Reviews

[Relic]

I was lucky enough to experience a lot of what you've mentioned. I think we all love summer because it reminds us of our youth when life was carefree. (that's if we were fortunate enough to have a good childhood).

This helped bring back memories and put me in a good place for today, and I thank you for that, Moon. :)

[Moonie]

Thank you so much! :))
I'm sorry i replied so late. Things weren't right in the country I'm in right now

[Fabian G. Franklin]

This was a wonderful read. I felt the heat and the humidity like I was reading Kipling's adventures in India. I've never quite seen the application you extend for the word dehisce in the last quatrain; the idea that heat is a living pod or a bubble bursting is an interesting metaphor.

[Patricia Wedel]

dear fairest... love the “Flock of fawns”...
when perhaps there will be a new Dawn when freedom will be at our doorstep once again...
truly, Pat. Be safe... Be well... x

[Patricia Wedel]

dear fairest... in present time... we trust the Cool of Indian Summer 2020 will keep the Corona Virus from returning in the Autumn.
Blessed be the Peacemakers. truly, Pat

[Moonie]

Thank you so much, Pat! I hope it does, and we have a beautiful year ahead.
Always love your reviews! ♡♡♡

[Chris Shaw]

This is beautiful Moon's fairest daughter. You have taken me on a nostalgia trip back to school summer holidays, and what fun they were. August seemed hotter then, parched and dry. Today there is a deluge. I am pining for the beat of August heat on my skin.

Chris

[Robert Trakofler]

Hello Moon:) This is a lovely depiction of summer I love summer in the spring and hate it in august it does indeed remind me of my youth and fun frolic but now I'm a fall guy:) when we can get it but I must admit of love summer storms!

[Moonie]

Thank you! And i apologize for replying so late.

[HadesRising]

Very nice, really well written. Well Done.