The Summer sun has arrived upon the shores, on the beaches, on the hills, in the parks, in the gardens, and on the streets of the cities of our island country... the Summer sun has bestowed upon the flowers, the trees, the animals, the insects, the birds, the people of the place I call home a fresh wave of warmth and connection like the tides of an ever present ocean... the Summer sun has people breaking out their barbecues and gathering together to feast with one another... the Summer sun has people coming out of their shell to sing, to dance, and to revel with each other... the Summer sun has people freeing themselves of their inhibitions... the Summer sun has people feeling like the time is right to to go to places of beauty and fascination... the Summer sun has a draw to it that is the perfect stage for nature to display its kaleidoscope of infinite colours... the Summer sun has the gift to be able to rejuvenate the spirit and the gift to be able to give an insight into the human experience - but the Summer sun is also something to enjoy in small doses, because too much may cause more harm than good... the Summer sun is shining bright in the sky and as I bask in its rays I feel something that reminds me of something I have felt and I know well: the odyssey of emotions and feelings that all come together at the height of the English Summer.
Summer
A Poem A Day #44: Summer’s Kiss
My Poem “Painting by Numbers”
The sun shines during the day…
the sky flashes during the night…
the heat is too much for some
people to take that they have to
spend most of their time
sitting in the shade…
within the dark clouds above
storms rage and echo the unparalleled
power of nature’s electricity
that manifests itself in the form
of both light and sound,
occasionally frenetically.
The summer months are usually
defined by the colours that are
seen emanating all around…
during the summer months
people usually take their time
to seek out a particular place
that they hope, or may already know,
will be somewhere special,
memorable, hopeful, and profound.
When painting a picture of the world
that they see, some people like to use
examples of other things
to compare their vision to,
for example: when someone sees
a beautiful person who is perfect
to them in every way, they may
compare them to a flower,
such as a daisy or a rose –
and in doing so they are
knowingly, or accidentally,
speaking in the language of poetry…
art, in its infinite forms, is an expression
of an artist who wishes to give
an example of who they are,
what they are, and what drives their heart
to share the story of something,
somewhere, or someone,
so powerfully, and yet so effortlessly
as if they were painting by numbers.
My Poem “A Summer Like No Other”
The Summer season is usually
a time that most people
look forward to and plan for…
the Summer is usually when
people have once in a lifetime
experiences that they
have never had before…
the Summer season is usually
when people spend most of
their time outdoors…
the Summer is usually when
everybody is smiling
from ear to ear and embracing
the rays of the sun
that seem to shine a light
on certain aspects of life
that inspire moments of awe.
The Summer season is supposed to be
when people enjoy certain examples
of beauty as they come into bloom…
the Summer is usually when people
like to take their time
when talking to one another,
face to face, instead of feeling
like every interaction is just one long zoom…
the Summer season is supposed to be
when people feel optimistic,
and they are generally in a good mood…
the Summer is supposed to be
when most people are singing with joy
and not crying because they had got
a bad case of the blues.
This Summer has already been filled
with so many examples of good news,
as well as the ultimate example
of bad news which we all know about
which in truth has felt like
one long, continuous, and engulfing
cloud that has been the epitome
of a bad dream that has
unfortunately come true…
this Summer has been one that
will forever be etched upon
the psyche of everybody
far into the future…
this Summer has been a time
in the lives of everybody alive
that will be something spoken about,
chronicled, and remembered as a
Summer when the whole world
had to do what they had to do
to protect the most vulnerable
and to preserve as much as possible
for the next generation…
the events of this year
will haunt humanity like a spectre,
because this year has felt like
a Summer like no other, and memorable
in most cases for all the wrong reasons.
My Poem “The Brightest of the Bright”
The sun has one again risen
in the sky as high as it can rise…
the light from the sun
that shines down upon us
is this years’ brightest of the bright…
the Summer solstice
has started in the Northern Hemisphere
of our planet and it is a time for some
of celebration and reverie in many forms,
and it is also a time when many people
gather together to welcome
this brand new season of the ever-repeating
and ever-evolving cycle of life.
Our world rotates
and does not stop doing so…
Earth changes and endures –
as do the life-forms who call it home…
time on our planet
is observed differently
and it is perceived
to have more moments
at this time of the year
during which people can enjoy
the delights of their outside environment
because there appears to be longer days
of consistent daylight.
Our planet’s relationship with the Sun
is a constant reminder to me
of how interconnected we will always be
to the celestial sphere of light,
heat, and hope that has been,
and always will be,
the catalyst in the natural development
of the celestial bodies
that have orbited it
since the birth of our closest star –
and I am sure that elsewhere
in the galaxies of the universe
that similar stars to our sun
share a similar connection
with what they have drawn towards them,
the other stars that shine
and ultimately combine to create
the tapestry of heavenly light
that makes the disk of a galaxy
look the way that it does
when seen from above
when all the stars shine in harmony
with their fellow brothers
and sisters of the heavens.
My Poem “Raining June”
It’s Summer now…
It’s the month of June…
Usually at this time of the year
when you look up at the sky
all that you can see is bright blue
and there isn’t a cloud to be found –
however, this year, today,
here in the U.K especially,
all that you can see is grey clouds
and all that you can feel
when you are out and about
walking around
is the wet droplets of rain water
assuring all concerned
that this Summer there won’t be a hosepipe ban.
Every year it’s a different story…
In years gone by you could
set your watch to the knowledge
that May to September
the weather was going to be nice
and dry and perfect for all those
activities that you necessarily
could not do while you were
inside your house –
but, like most things,
steadily the climate of the world
has changed and it has become
a lot more unpredictable.
Right now, people should be
wiping their brow of sweat
and complaining about how hot it is –
however, instead, people are
complaining that they are getting
soaked by the deluge of rain
from above and from the splash
of the puddles when cars
race past them at high-speed…
Right now, it should be as hot as hell –
however, at the moment,
there is a constant stream of droplets
from this mass outside shower –
during which the soles of shoes
are slipping,
people are sliding,
and cars are hydroplaning –
and instead of it being flaming
this June looks to be one
when almost every day
it is going to be raining.
My Poem “The Dark Tower”
I once spent an entire summer
with Roland Deschain,
“The Gunslinger”,
as we followed
the “Man in Black”
as he fled across the desert
of a world that had “moved on”,
in the pages of the books
of Stephen King’s epic
multi-novel adventure
“The Dark Tower” –
and it was as we journeyed
and followed the path
of the beams that led
to the tower that stands
and binds the worlds
of Stephen King’s stories together
that I discovered along the way
that the best stories
are like the most memorable dreams,
and that to find something
you may have been looking for
for as long as you can remember
sometimes the doorways
that we must walk through
we can only find
when we explore the world’s
that reveal themselves
under the covers –
and now I am preparing to enter
a movie-theatre so that I may return
to the world of Stephen King
and journey again across a desert
and through magical doors
with “The Gunslinger”
and return again to “The Dark Tower”.
My Poem “Rainstorm”
The raindrops are falling…
The thunder is rumbling…
The people are running for cover…
The people getting soaked
are wishing that they had an umbrella…
The music of a band continues playing…
The children are having fun puddle-jumping…
The British public are yet again
at the mercy of the eccentric
British summer weather…
The streets are slippery under-foot
and they are as shiny as a mirror…
The sound of thunder
again echoes in the clouds above…
The rain continues to pour –
however, after taking a breath for a minute,
everybody steps out again
and braves the constant shower
of this prolonged
Great British rainstorm.
My Poem ‘Heaven smells like roses’
I believe that if hell smells like fire,
then heaven must smell like roses…
I believe that if you doubt yourself,
then you are only doing the devil’s work for them…
I believe that if you do not want
to fall under the spell of internal darkness
then I would suggest that you hold on
to the most powerful gift of all: faith,
and see where that faith in yourself will take you…
I believe that if at a young age
you think that you know every thing
that there is to know about life,
then you are in for a long life
full of surprises…
I believe that if you try not to focus
too much on the past
and what other people once made you feel about yourself
then you may actually be able to see past
the invisible mask that you wear
and which only you can see,
and then finally you will see
that you are somebody who is truly beautiful.
The sun makes both flowers and people bloom
when they feel its energizing rays…
in the light of a summer’s day
is when you can see elements
of heaven on Earth in full-display…
the sun is like a drug
that can instantly make you smile
and put you in a good mood…
the summer is a precious and memorable time –
especially around the summer holiday season
and the month of Flaming June.
I save special days and heavenly experiences
in my mind and I relive them in my day-dreams,
especially on cold and rainy winter days…
I try to remember as much as I can
about a time that I know I will always consider
to be special, one of a kind, and important to me…
when I think back to when I was a child,
even then I remember the days and the nights of summer
as being the times when the beauty of nature
made me feel happy and the most blessed…
some things are too unmistakable for words to ascribe…
some things are always going to be
a matter of faith and belief –
in god, or perhaps in yourself?
I believe that we were given seeds
from which to grow new gardens,
because we need to learn
that the path to happiness
and the revelation of perfection
can only come to us
when we see ourselves for who we are in our heart,
and when we realize that wherever heaven is
and whenever we go there
we will instantly know for sure, as I believe,
that heaven does in fact smell of roses.
markthepoet.me 