Dog Days Poem by Mark E Webster

Dog Days

Dog days of summer conjure endings,
Counting down the longer nights, balmy things to do.
Steel against the cooling chill autumn brings, Wishing of the sun, 'take me with you.'

Beyond the horizon, the boundary of this place.
Shadows lengthen full of fearsome dark.
Sun's rays illume the scary monster's face.
Tentacles entangle all, save only art.

Children leave the streets.
Mercury retreats.
Again.

But here and now blue sky sets us free
To sing and dance our cares away.

Parched earth before the flood foretold, neglected.
Bounty crops locked behind closed doors.
Masters of the fields all self selected.
Workers toil and fall, penury and war.

In the heat, sharpened sabres rattle.
Many games are played, but all are lost.
Led by the nose, like stun-bolted cattle.
Multi columned spreadsheets count the cost.

But here and now blue sky sets us free
To sing and dance our cares away.

Deckchairs, barbecues lay wasted.
Fairgrounds leave their marks upon the grass.
Wash away the foreign cocktails tasted.
Sharing of the photographs will pass.

School gates will yawn.
Commuter roads will swarm.
Again.

But here and now, blue sky set us free
To sing and dance our cares away.