.
She pretends the sun will stay
and those foreboding shadows
will not grow.
The geese in V-formation
that she saw this afternoon
weren’t really flying south.
Wildflowers still dance
between the rocks
and butterflies still light
upon the phlox
as honeybees
still swarm the mint
and bumbles take the clover.
She hums a rosy little tune
and fills her watering can.
.
© 2016 Betty Hayes Albright
Seasonings 
Alas winter is waiting in the wings.
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I hope fall and winter will bring you some rain, Charlie.
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I just love your poetry, Betty. What makes it so special so often is the tone, a preciseness of imagery and language that sings even though you write free verse. There is an intensity too, a focusing in on a single (usually romantic) moment that burns itself into the consciousness. The regret in this poem is palpable, but also the hanging on to summer’s vestiges even as
“The geese in V-formation
that she saw this afternoon
weren’t really flying south.”
I believe you are where
“She hums a rosy little tune
and fills her watering can.”
This is just good, sound craftsmanship that ends up being art.
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Thomas, your comments are always so encouraging and insightful. In the face of writer’s block “syndrome” that means a great deal to me! I’m glad you felt the poem “sings”. Even with free verse I need for there to be some kind of rhythmic flow. Thank you so much, once again. 🙂
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Such a perfect image, Betty, both sensually and metaphorically. (I love that rocks/phlox rhyme, smack dab in the middle! 🙂 ) Then there’s the delight of the too familiar aura of us descendants of Cleopatra….Queen of de-nial…
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Thanks, Cynthia – I wasn’t sure about the rhyme, afraid it didn’t fit in but in the end we poets must do what pleases us. And yes, queen of denial for sure! I almost made “denial” the title. 🙂 🙂 Really glad you liked this one.
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I’m glad you refrained from that academic title…too stiffly definitive, it would have been. “Still August” carries, for me, a nice dose of wishful thinking in it, and an insistence on appreciating the present moment…even with premonitions of its impermanence.
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I agree about the title. No point in reading the poem if the title “prejudices the jury” so to speak. “Denial” is too abstract, plus that was only one facet of the poem. One reason I love your poems is that they have many facets. 🙂 Thank you muchly for your feedback!
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MAGIC OF AUGUST
We stand – poised – aghast
‘twixt enraptured Summer and
Entrancing Autumn
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I love your poem by the way but it transported me to a place where Calliope has the reins and I am not sure she is always bound by etiquette.May I apologise on her behalf?
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Oh Ben, no apology necessary! It’s a great compliment to me when a poem inspires you to write a poem or haiku of your own. 🙂 Thank you!
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❤ ❤ ❤
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