Below is a wonderful poem about July. I decided to use it as a writing prompt to get me out of the slump!
MIDSUMMER DIRGE
What can you say in defense
of July,
after the holiday is over
and you are beginning to grow
tired of strawberries
and the smell of barbeque,
and even watermelon,
and you have eaten so much
of your mother’s potato salad that
you wish it were May again
so you could start over
and each morning, soon after dawn’s early light,
the sun scorches your skin
with its too-close kisses,
and by noon the asphalt has softened
to the point that the solidity
of the whole earth comes into question
and in the evening, waiting
for a breeze to lift the wilted leaves
you wonder if even rocks are melting,
and what can you say in defense
of the world
when your best friend’s dog is lethargic all day
and the next morning is found
lying dead on the parched grass
of her lawn,
and the 6 o’clock news is full
of violence and war
and even the newest movies are about
alien invasions and serial slashers
and somewhere a grandmother is indicted
for manslaughter after leaving a 2-year-old
alone in a locked car,
and the air conditioner runs all day and still
it cannot cool the room
where you sit drinking your sixth glass
of iced tea, the ice melting
as fast as your ambition to move
and at night on the deck,
looking up at the star-spangled sky,
you see a meteor streaking brighter than any
you have ever seen in your life,
breaking apart into golden embers
as it falls through the inky atmosphere
and what can you say in defense
of yourself
when you close your eyes
against the sequined darkness
and the memory of fireworks flashes
inside your eyelids
and when you look up at the moon
it is huge and dazzling through
your tears.
Linda Barnes
*What would YOU say in defense of July or even the summer?
In defense of July, I could never grow tired of Barbeque...it's the smell of family, both old - my dad is the best barbeque chef; and the new, our family has many get togethers and parties and games in the solarium and swimming...July is ENERGY! I get so much done...I wake early and stay up later...I get to ease more gently into my day...July is reaeding just for recreation...for the joy of story...for the happiness of escaping into another world, not my own of responsibility...Ahh...I understand the need for Ying and Yang...without winter, I would not delight in July so much...but oh, how I wish there were more July than December!
Tomorrow is another day of boot camp...I shall tell you of my adventures of working with 20 year olds! Sure wish July could make me feel younger? The only good news right now is that I'm not heaving as much as I did when I started...ha...ha..
