A few young surf rats,a neglected pier
Feral children who lived life without fear
If a wave knocked them down, they just rose again
It was like endless Summer, and they were the best of friends
By: J.N.R Dutton
miles away from town
the screen door opened for me
to gentle breeze, letting in summer
escape from those who troubled me
the lake down the slope glistened
stillness and reflection of open land
while I idled and gazed at the sky
in the place I learned to wonder and dream
and each passing cloud I named
in the place learned to wonder and dream
while I idled and gazed at the sky
stillness and reflection of open land
the lake down the slope glistened
escape from those who troubled me
to a gentle breeze, letting in summer
the screen door opened for me
miles away from town
*palindrome form
Daddy put it up
in the old oak tree.
Four strong ropes
and an old black tire.
Hours of fun
swinging and twirling
through the long
summer months.
Childhood memories
never to be forgotten
as we played together
on the old tire swing.
There was a time when happiness
seemed to me the only way of life.
Summer seemed to last forever
as if freedom had been served to me
on a big beautiful silver platter.
Youth was timeless and grand
with rainbows forever adorning the skies.
Whatever went wrong?
Bright night
Moonlit site
Morning sun
Now breakfast buns
Still fish
Trout tails swish
herbaceous perennials
annual
biennial
low subshrubs
basal stems.
opposite, simple, mostly linear
strongly glaucous grey green
blue green.
five petals,
frilled or pinked
all pale to dark pink.
Echoes of a Summer haze
Long and everlasting days
Sunkissed hair and warming skin
Gently ripples beneath the swim
Delicate rays of dappled sun
Illuminating children run
Grassy scents and floral ember
Etching memories to remember
Daisy chains, as threading varies
Chasing dandelion fairies
Sweeping swathes of green oasis
Hold in place a sweeter stasis
Tranquil pools of sparkling darkness
Emphasised in brutal starkness
Heady days of warmth and laughter
Reminisced forever after
Eternal reeling films enraptured
Of loving memories recaptured
Our outhouse was attached to the rear of our home.
In times of foul weather, negating any need to roam.
It was all about convenience. Never heated,
permanently air conditioned, and two seated.
It was one of the best and quiet thinking spots.
Because the door lacked a lock or handle slots,
there were occasions when interruptions occurred,
encouraging one to butt out of there inured.
Winter weather could be nasty and cold,
causing meditations to be short, thus quickly unload.
Summer was warm with breezy invasions,
entertaining lingering and tingling sensations.
There was never a need to waste water and flush.
Spreading lime was used to keep nasty fly's from us.
Outside and behind was a sliding door,
Where once a year I was 'encouraged' to explore
and clean our outhouse with pail, rake, and shovel.
A chore that trained me to write poetry and grovel.
One by one leaves drop, curl, and mix on the spot.
When left unattended, their bodies slowly rot.
Nature recycles them for purposes man forgot.
Ashes get poked and release wood smoke that furls,
twists and glides aloft to reside. Residual wisps curl,
stings eyes, produces tears and evokes emotions that whirl.
Crickets stridulate seeking mates then sneak inside to hibernate.
Night football games yield cheers, groans and rivalry debates.
Hot cider, sipped and swallowed helps the blood to circulate.
Hayrides get cozy while fingers and toes, turn numb.
Pumpkins get carved, cooked, smashed and become;
pies, cupcakes, cookies and bread, leaving trails of crumbs.
One morning early still and bright before the sun came into sight,
a clean white sheet of frost glazed the remains of night.
Folks start this day viewing an awesome autumn delight.
Lying in a meadow of freshly cut hay with the warm summer sunshine
Just dreaming the day away
Being kept cool by a gentle summer breeze, listening to the buzzing sounds
from summer bumble bees
Relaxed and contented beneath the warm summer sky
Blue and clear, not a cloud is passing by
The aroma of the summer wild flowers reaches me as I daydream the sound of water
flowing in a nearby stream
In my summer field of hay I see a field mouse scurrying and collecting bits
to build his field mouse house
A hawk is flying high in the summer sky not a sound does he make
as he majestically goes by
The time for me to leave now as the sunlight fades away
By rest assured I will return to my summer time field of hay
oh haste brumal mist that twilight has kissed
on the hollyhocks, meadow-born
sweet tears resurrected on petals neglected
collected 'midst early morn …
the dew-christened flow’rs parading the hours
croon hope to the unblemished hearts
then rises the moon while it saunters to swoon
and the ballet of eventide starts …
tall grasses that thrive with new life, come alive
with a shimmer of luminous lights
a slow-spinning dance of the glowing romance
that July has thus gifted its nights …
a heavens' breast lighted by stars, unrequited
sets stage on the vault, high above -
night's magic gone viral, as fireflies spiral ...
in a whimsical waltz ... of love.
~ POETRY AGAINST POVERTY ~
( photographic art created copyright-free by the author with Gemini AI / Meta AI software )
Bubble sucking lungs
Dual life wet wigglers
Teapot hiding spot ?
from the deep fells of September
I stand tip-toe on Autumn's reach
longing to see the late-day blush
or a June lark through dewy haze
but all that meets my hopeful eye?
October, dropping bright bloomers
and the cold, graying cloaks beyond.
Copyright © 2019 / 2026 Gregory Richard Barden
~ POETRY AGAINST POVERTY ~
( photographic art created copyright-free by the author with Gemini AI / Meta AI software )
The summer air cools
And the first crickets chirp
In the descending dusk
As dry grass and gravel
Crunch beneath my sneakers
Perched on a stump
A great horned owl
Swivels his head back to look at me
Startling me from scattered thoughts
Of celebrities, financial woes
And childhood nostalgia
We lock eyes for a moment
And before I can reach for my phone
He flies away over the ravine
Leaving me to wonder what
Divinely owlish thoughts
I startled him from in return.
Heaven is real. And what for it
Hearts, harmonize, do
Believe, we can. Oh! Such days, can.
Warmed, this pleasant, through.
Whose sky, back-rolled, of blues, deeper
Whilst this, sunned, lost in.
Having disclosed,of hope, wish, dream
That, infinite, spread
Fulfillingly near, wing-sped
As divine blessing.
Summer Categories
Read wonderful summer poetry on the following sub-topics:
acrostic, alliteration, beautiful, beauty of, camp, end of, haiku, holiday, kids, late, love, rhyme, school, season, solstice, vacation,
and more.
Definition | What is Summer in Poetry?
Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.
Related Poetry Forms
vacation, heat, dog days, summertime, midsummer, daylight savings time, picnic days, riot time, summer solstice, summertide, sunny season,