The kingdom of summer passes swiftly on the breeze,
Few golden days to mortal heads are bequeathed
Aye, there is beauty in the bronze upon the bough,
But swiftly it will fade to a dull and lifeless hue.
For the kiss of the sun fades with the dawn's biting chill,
The leaves cascade, without want or will.
If only outstretched hand and a voice heavy with command
Could cling to summer's mane and bid the season stand.
But one cannot hold back the turning tide of the season,
No matter the strength of desire or reason.
So we must retreat and stoke the fire,
And await the return of all we desire.
For green paradise shall return in due time,
And the kingdom of summer shall once again reign divine.
End of life satisfying.
Greater, lesser enrayed
Of aged light. Lorn-blown day's, dock's.
Sucks in a lone-swept man.
Through its profound, voiceless hush.
A true spirit-calming.
If but out whose throats hollowed
Deepest, for pelican!
swan bay, queenscliff. (circa 2002)
It was a late August summer day, very hot
We went for a hike, wandered and lost our way
We often wonder why we got lost and forgot
It was almost a night that we didn’t want to stay
We walked for hours in the woods before nightfall
If we were still lost that night, we had no plans
We then heard a bark and saw him, robust and tall
A lab with a blue- collar came over and licked our hands
He barked and ran back and forth in front of us
We decided to follow him, maybe he knew the trail
We ended up at the ranger’s station and finally home
We found our compass that day, better than a phone
He was part of the search and rescue ranger crew
He was our rescue angel and named compass too
Poetry Wheel Challenge:
Theme: Journey
Emotion: Wonder
Color: Blue
Season: Late Summer
Form: Sonnet
Object: Compass
Verb: Wander
Created using the PoetrySoup Poetry Wheel.
The crayfish hies it
Under the flat, shale rock that
Smells of moss and fish.
He stands fierce; claws akimbo
Ready to fend off a boy.
O these coolnesses!
Blown off a water.
Re-encountered, regaled again
Each face in summer.
With noon's energy
Nightfall's toned down is
Shake a bluff, maidenhair bank
Hurtled off; sat. bliss!
The Trees ¦¦¦¦ Tassels -- hit -- and swung --
¦¦¦¦¦ ¦¦¦¦¦¦ to ¦¦¦¦ a Tune
¦¦¦¦ ¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦ ¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦
Accompanying the Sun --
Far Psalteries of Summer --
Enamoring the Ear
¦¦¦¦ never yet did satisfy --
¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦ -- when most fair
¦¦¦ Sun shone whole ¦¦¦ ¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦ --
Then Half -- then utter hid --
¦¦¦ ¦¦¦ ¦¦¦¦¦¦¦ ¦¦¦¦ ¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦
¦¦¦ ¦¦¦ Estates of Cloud
Sufficient to enfold Him
¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦ from view --
Except it were a whim of His
To let ¦¦¦ Orchards grow --
¦¦¦ Bird sat careless on the fence --
One gossipped ¦¦¦ ¦¦¦ ¦¦¦¦
On silver matters ¦¦¦¦¦¦¦ ¦¦¦ ¦¦¦¦¦
¦¦¦¦ ¦¦¦¦¦¦¦ ¦¦¦¦¦ ¦¦¦ ¦¦¦¦¦ --
Bright Flowers slit a Calyx
And soared upon a Stem
¦¦¦¦ ¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦ ¦¦¦¦¦ -- Sweet hoisted --
With Spices -- in the Hem --
'Twas more -- I cannot mention --
¦¦¦ ¦¦¦¦ -- ¦¦¦ ¦¦¦¦¦ ¦¦¦¦ ¦¦¦ --
¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦ ¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦
Of Nature's -- Summer Day!
(Blackout of The Trees like Tassels -- hit -- and swung -- by Emily Dickinson)
I wander on a journey that may fail
The compass heading points me to true blue
Late Summer is the time I know so well
Accentuated by my thoughts of you
I wonder as I wander through the maze
What separated us as years sped by?
My love for you displaced by cruel malaise
Still on the journey asking myself why
Acceptance is the price I have to pay
I’ll try my best to take the good with bad
Accepting our relationship’s decay
Your absence from my life makes me so sad
To make the best of life remains the goal
My thoughts of you are balsam for my soul
Late Summer
PoetrySoup Weekly Challenge
Theme: Memory
Emotion: Hope
Color: Gold
Season: Late Summer
Form: Free Verse
Object: Lantern
Verb: Remember
As the snow melts on the mountain
And a trickle began to fill the fountain
Filling the drained spring below
Then the river begins to flow
Snow on the mountain
A fire in the hearth
Snow on the mountain
Losing you broke my heart
I remember when our love was young
Sometimes the lights would go out
We'd light the lantern to see how to walk
But never has it snowed this early before
That snow covered the gold poplar
All the leaves turned brown and fell
This shouldn't happen in late summer
But on this we couldn't dwell
Snow on the mountain
A fire in the hearth
Snow on the mountain
Losing you broke my heart
Your hair was thin and white
Your hearing had disappeared
But you kept going and going
Until your health disappeared
Snow on the mountain
A fire in the hearth
Snow on the mountain
Losing you broke my heart
I know we'll meet again my love
Jesus is waiting for me to come home
That will be a great reunion
Happiness we'll all share
The mind of man expands its
eager grasp,
To chart the heavens and the
depths below,
Unlocking wonders from the
iron clasp,
Of centuries that vanished long
ago.
A monstrous birth, a star that
burns too bright,
The sudden flood that reaped
the valley clean-
All signs of wonder in the
shifting light,
The strangest omens that the
world has seen.
The page is turned, the ink is
dark and bold,
A vast creation waking from its
sleep,
As great, portentous stories are
resold,
And secrets rise from out the
quiet deep.
The world grows larger than it
was before,
With boundaries that stretch
beyond the eye,
A great abundance knocks
upon the door,
Beneath a vast and unpredictable
sky.
I wandered out beneath late-summer skies,
a blue so wide it felt like open thought.
The road before me stretched in quiet sighs,
inviting me toward places wonder sought.
A compass rested lightly in my hand,
its needle trembling as if it could feel
the pull of distant paths across the land~
those whispered routes the heart keeps half-concealed.
I followed where it pointed, mile by mile,
past fields still holding sunlight in their seams,
each turn a question, each new step a smile
that rose like wind through half-remembered dreams.
And when the day leaned softly into night,
my wandering felt shaped by blue-tinged light.
.
twixt'er
yesss down
there
'long hern
drip
'pon region
mine
yep there
hern
wet
Whiff impending rain
Metallic smell in nostrils
My senses explode.
.
'twere
uh wink
top wheat
fell'd
'to mine lips
mine
never she'd
think
up here reach
.
'tiz
hern frock
it's diaphanous
white
hern camber'z
sequester'd searing
silhouette
mine think's eyne
PoetrySoup Weekly Challenge
Theme: Memory
Emotion: Hope
Color: Gold
Season: Late Summer
Form: Free Verse
Object: Lantern
Verb: Remember
As the snow melts on the mountain
And a trickle began to fill the fountain
Filling the drained spring below
Then the river begins to flow
Snow on the mountain
A fire in the hearth
Snow on the mountain
Losing you broke my heart
I remember when our love was young
Sometimes the lights would go out
We'd light the lantern to see how to walk
But never has it snowed this early before
That snow covered the gold poplar
All the leaves turned brown and fell
This shouldn't happen in late summer
But on this we couldn't dwell
Snow on the moutain
A fire in the hearth
Snow on the mountain
Losing you broke my heart
Your hair was thin and white
Your hearing had disappeared
But you kept going and going
Until your health disappeared
Snow on the mountain
A fire in the hearth
Snow on the mountain
Losing you broke my heart
I know we'll meet again my love
Jesus is waiting for me to come home
That will be a great reunion
Happiness we'll all share
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,