July 2021

~~ a calendar quindecim

by tkbrown

The Heat of July

July arrives with a sweltering heat,
bringing depressions, storms, torrential rains
to southern states--historical repeat
of bygone seasons with their hurricanes.
The Pacific northwest with record highs
installs rolling outages in Spokane;
while California's veins are parched and dry,
volcanic lava is Hawaii's bane.
Will the northeastern states escape the wrath
being spewed midst July's incoming days,
or will birds there need water in each bath
just to survive heated summertime rays?
We can hope the burn of the scorching sun
by end of month will be seen on the run
as the virus and it leave room for fun.

The new virus variant taking hold
is putting a chill on planned summer fun.
The worldwide spike is becoming quite bold
but not cooling us down via "chill" pun.
The play on words is easier to take
than the virus or heat of July days
typically graced with vacation break
which may slip past us due to viral frays.
While choosing to break with normal routine,
keep a thought to health for others and you;
use sense and caution, keep enjoyment clean
to prevent a new surge when summer's through.
Don't forget the healthy ways you have learned,
practice safe sunning so you don't get burned,
and you'll enjoy home more when you've returned.

Predictions border on dire once again
from many health pros for the months ahead.
Each new variant sets off a new spin
as the vaccines work to capture the spread.
As return to work seeks to create new norms
of work from home and higher rates of pay
we will surely see new variant swarms
in spite of cares we take along the way.
With schools restarting in-person classes,
students will be busy with music, sports,
and studies galore requiring passes
for halls and busses engaged for transports.
Don't store safety precautions on a shelf,
actions are not protected by an elf
negating practicing safety yourself.

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Photo Above:

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Hurricane

~~ a haiku ~~

~~ by tkbrown
The hurricane blows,
a big limb spikes through the roof --
squirrel babes need home

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Haiku The traditional Japanese haiku is a three-line poem with seventeen syllables, written in a 5/7/5 syllable count format The haiku often focuses on images from nature. It emphasizes simplicity, intensity and directness of expression.

Haiku began in thirteenth-century Japan as the opening phrase of ‘Renga’, an oral poem which generally was one hundred stanzas in length — also composed syllabically. The much shorter haiku broke away from the renga in the sixteenth century. It was mastered a century later by Matsuo Basho, who wrote the following classic haiku:

An old pond!
A frog jumps in.
The sound of water.

As the haiku form has evolved, many rules have been broken. However, the philosophy of haiku has been preserved: the focus on a brief moment in time, a use of provocative, colorful images, an ability to be read in one breath; and a sense of sudden enlightenment and illumination.

The haiku philosophy influenced poet Ezra Pound, who noted the power of its brevity and juxtaposed images. He wrote, “The image itself is speech. The image is the world beyond formulated language (The Academy of American Poets).

Source: The Academy of American Poets. (29 February 2016). “Haiku: Poetic Form.” (10 September 2019). https://poets.org/text/haiku-poetic-form.

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Photo Above: by skeeze @ pixabay.com.
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