For me, a southern Ontario-an, I think August is Time's Magnum Opus
August drizzles days with sunshine
Expectation is fulfilled
Where Queen Ann’s lace fringes fence-lines
Golden fields are flower-frilled
Where the cricket tunes morn-noon-night
Where cicadas drone and buzz
Where leaf-canopies hide sunlight
Where sow-thistle turns to fuzz
Where the garden blooms with supper
Where earth’s cupboard overflows
Where we linger, summer-lovers
Hooked on anything that grows
August sizzles on the sidewalk
Startles us with scorching heat
Lures us to the cooler climate
Of shade tree or pool-side seat
There to swab the salty rivers
Trickling down face, neck and backs
There to revel in the favors
Of words like ‘chill’ and ‘relax’
There to mourn the quickened murmur
Rife with life’s soft severed strings
There to celebrate sweet summer
And the simple gifts it brings
August melts like minty ice-cream
Pools in petal-passion spent
Fools us with a blue-sky daydream
Then we wonder where it went
Treats us to timeless traditions
Heatwave ripples, goldenrod
Wheat-field stubble, watermelon
Sunsets hand-painted by God
Flowers fading, apples plopping
Plum-pear-peachy ecstasies
Ripe tomato with a topping
Of black pepper if you please
August unravels red roses
Often stopping us mid-stride
To appreciate the moments
Sparkling on time’s hasting tide
Where morning to morning meters
What will soon be out of reach
Where we surf a surge that peters
Like a wave washed to the beach
Make the most of almost morrow
Where each flower tolls a bell
Where August is the sweet sorrow
Leading to summer’s farewell
© Janet Martin
