In that summer of summers
The living was easy
As swallows skimmed
Shrinking reservoirs
And purple emperors
Were seen sometimes in Surrey
Where people peered from windows
And The Strait of Hormuz
Seemed so very far away - like
Cricketers in a heat haze.
In that summer of summers
Apples fell too early
The size of ping pong balls
And I remembered past voices
As I walked these urban streets
In pools of cool starlight
The size of ping pong balls
And I remembered past voices
As I walked these urban streets
In pools of cool starlight
Foxes dashing to Bannerdale
And weather people speaking of
Jet stream patterns and UV rays.
In that summer of summers
Green lost its verdancy
Youths drowned tragically in rivers
Squeezed from distant hills
As desperate animals sought shade
In fields of burnt ochre and beige
And climate preachers wrung hands
Before robotic cameras
As our summer lawns ceased hissing.
Green lost its verdancy
Youths drowned tragically in rivers
Squeezed from distant hills
As desperate animals sought shade
In fields of burnt ochre and beige
And climate preachers wrung hands
Before robotic cameras
As our summer lawns ceased hissing.
Photo-illustration - Sheffield Botanical Gardens August 3rd 2026
Hot summer.
ReplyDeleteWith England being a maritime country, summers can often be disappointing... but not this year!
DeleteYou have to lay off the Mounjaro!
ReplyDeleteHa-ha! Nice one Marcellous!
DeleteThat's quite sad, but an excellent description of continuing drought.
ReplyDeleteI know you are always honest in your reactions Elsie so I really appreciate this comment.
DeleteAnd who is not to say that it will get worse and worse? Always capture the mood of the moment in your verse.
ReplyDeleteMaybe next year we will have a wet, green summer and the climate evangelists will be quieter.
DeleteIt all started off so well........
ReplyDeleteIt's a thoughtful poem. And honest.
We haven't had much rain but the water table must be quite high as our lawn is green and the vegetables at the allotment are fabulous this year. We picked a carrier bag of green beans and two days later there were as many again! Too many!
A hot dry time.
ReplyDeleteI very much liked and and savoured reading this.
ReplyDeleteOur apple harvest is poor this year - too many dropping before ripening, but we have had a lot of greengages - well , a lot compared to previous years.
ReplyDeleteApart from Hormuz, it reminds me of 1976 - the year I got married.
ReplyDeleteWith the help of my muse Ana Anagnostopoulos I've translated your
ReplyDeletelyric into Greek and will present it for the Constantine P Cavafy Poetry Prize.
Under my own name, of course.
You won't be able to sue because I am now an offshore company (or more
accurately I have undergone Corporate Re-domiciliation) outside of British law.
However my private residence is in Lapithos, on the north coast of Cyprus ;
you and your family will always be welcome as my guests.
Our delicately dry Assyrtiki wine will be in plentiful supply.
Sean Connery reads Ithaka/ Powerful Life Poem by CP Cavafy.
YouTube.
I appreciate the reference to The Hissing of Summer Lawns, a fabulous album by Joni Mitchell. Well done.
ReplyDelete