when I walkabout August
it brings me to a long evening
vibrant greens hit me different
so does swaying flowers of every colour
cut grass fills my nostrils
children’s laughter crowds my ears
as they ride on to adventure passing me by
I smell popcorn, hot dogs, and pizza
tinge of BBQ comes next
then, a big splash
everyone around me is wet
the ocean is still a taste on my lips
a dog barks in the distance
car horns sound behind me
moving my gait to a sidewalk
as a concert can be heard warming up
there is a ball ahead of me
should I kick it…should I throw it
before I can decide, the game’s over
the feel of sand is rough and kelp is gross to the touch
I can watch a bee forever
while my skin gets hot, red, and burnt
cotton candy tastes the best when carnival nights set
how many worms did we catch to go fishing
that night we all played red rover until 10:30
fire flankers dance an estival night sky
birds chirp me awake and sing me to sleep
I crave ice cream on a restaurant patio after a full belly
there’s wedding in the park, they look happy
when I walkabout August, I search for a bench
to look around summer and become a kid, a teen, a man
someone who holds hands with mother nature
and wishes for that long evening to last just a few more minutes
then, I’m up and on my way toward September
Earth To Ash 
I love this so much – everything about it! As usual, you trigger all the senses with your amazing descriptives…
I love that it’s a mini memoir – written in the present about the summers – the Augusts – that once were and how they shaped you from a boy to young man to the (amazing) man you are today…but as much as you’d love to sit and remain in those Augusts, there are a whole lifetime of Septembers to reflect on with beautiful memories of their own, and another whole lifetime of Septembers to look forward to…
I also love this voice – this style – you’ve been writing in lately. Its quick pacing and halted sentences pulls the reader in… Lines like:”the feel of sand is rough and kelp is gross to the touchI can watch a bee foreverwhile my skin gets hot, red, and burntcotton candy tastes the best when carnival nights set”might seem like they’re all over the place, but it’s a gentle chaos that emphasizes your emotion and your quick recall… And the style somehow suits you, seems comfortable to you, like it’s been there all along, but now your allowing it to be …
And as usual, you taught me a new word – “estival”… I love how you use these words… I can’t decide whether you’re that advanced in vocabulary or if it’s the difference between Canadian/Newfoundland English and American English, but I love how you use these beautiful words…
Now, I’ve got something to add that could/would be considered really weird by some people, but it’s pretty much the status quo for us – this morning at work, I was working in hot dogs… The entire set switched places, with these hot dogs all moving to this door and these back over here…but at one point, separating all the different brands and varieties of hot dogs, I had the completely random thought of “is this just an American thing or do other places love hot dogs, too… I wonder if hot dogs were something Ash grew up with, like, are summers there defined by hot dogs and bbqs and all that kinda stuff like they are here?” I was thinking that, probably just about the time you were posting this…lol….then about an hour later, I saw some of the bakery markdowns and was drawn to the Angel Food cake. Haven’t had it in years – decades – and for $2 thought, “I think I’ll get one.” Then I thought of how, to me, they always smelled and tasted like cotton candy…and, standing there, I could just about taste it and how that taste should be the official taste of summer and its fairs… 😂…
Oh! I almost forgot! Lol… I went off on “estival” and got distracted – what are “fire flankers?” That I’m assuming is a Newfoundland thing and I’d love to learn…😄…
Hey, keep up the great work…this is a beautiful piece for so many different reasons!! And I look forward to reading more from you in this intriguing, inviting voice… 💕
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As always, I appreciate your take on my poems and you’re right, they are becoming a bit of style of mine. I am glad you noticed. It’s just one of those moments when it all comes back to me after maybe a trigger or two. I will be honest and say that I let this one marinate for a bit as I wasn’t sure it would work. You validated that for me. 🙂 That word is something that I have been waiting to use for some time now. I love words and I try my best to expand my vocab as much as I can. Appreciate the nod to that. Flankers??? Well, they are the tiny embers that float away from a darkened fired sky. It’s a common word for her in NL, so when I think of that I think of the word flankers. Something said all the time when I was younger or even now around the right people.
I appreciate your comments and thanks again for your take on it. It’s been a while since I posted, so this was nice to get out there. More to follow and a few levels….until.
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Oh, embers = flankers … I like that! 😊 Honestly, when I first read “fire flankers,” my mind went to lightning bugs, especially in the context you used it with dancing in the night sky… *Shrugs* maybe that’s what lightning bugs should be called instead of fire flies…lol… Well, thanks for the word lesson(s) [*psst* I need them]… 🙂…
And never doubt or second guess your writing, Ashley – just put it out there!! We’re often our own worst critics, especially if we’re dabbling in something new….but, by now, I’m pretty convinced you would have to intentionally write a piece badly for it to “not work,” and I don’t ever see that happening… 😉…
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Thanks for the validation 🙏
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