This summer I have been walking every day. It has been fulfilling in more ways than the exercise. I’m getting to know my neighbors. The other day I walked and talked with a former student. He’s all grown up with grown up kids. When did that happen?
This is the time of year that crepe myrtles are in bloom. I played with the Portrait mode on my Iphone camera. I like how this one focuses on the blossoms.
What inspires you in the summer? Please write a small summer poem in the comments and encourage other writers here.
beyond the garden gate
Margaret Simon, draft
crepe myrtle tree blooms
sprinkling summer with pink snow.
Reflections on the Teche 
Both the flower and your poem are so delicate, Margaret! Lovely! We don’t have crepe myrtle here, but we do have lilies.
This is the season of lilies,
All snug in the sun,
Drunk on rainwater.
Golden day lilies bloom on and on
Like a never-fading smile.
Orange day lilies mimic the sunset,
Bloom for a day on giraffe-neck stems.
Asiatic lilies strut diverse colors and patterns
Like a fashion show runway.
A lily for every style, every day,
In this season of lilies.
~Jane Heitman Healy, draft
Jane, I love the lilies and the way you’ve got them movies and showing off!
“moving”, that should be….
Lovely Lily parade poem Jane, thanks!
Jane, I love your poem with all the beautiful images of lilies. These are some of my favorite lines, drunk on rainwater, like a never-ending smile, mimic the sunset, and this one I couldn’t stop smiling about, “Bloom for a day on giraffe-neck stems.” You have a great imagination. So far, I only have one pink Asiatic lily that has bloomed and some early yellow lilies. The fragrant star-gazer lilies are my favorite.
Oh, my, I love your delicate capture of the flowers, Margaret. So much to see and love as spring turns into summer.
Summer forest, lush
Wet with the night
Leaning with heat
Please give us days
So delicious
We will imagine
You as everlasting.
Draft, Carol Coven Grannick
Carol, I love the rhythm, rhyme, imagery, and all those /s/ sounds poem in your poem.
Thank you, Gail!
So much mood here, Carol!
Thank you, Jane!
So lovely Margaret your poem and the pink Myrtle, thanks for this escape!
Chicago supposedly has the worst air in the world today. Haven’t been outside yet, will go out briefly to water 💦 I can smell the smoke through my 😷
Here’s my poem,
fairy dust myrtle
sense-tickles pink crepe delight…
vanish bad air day!
Michelle Kogan, draft
Michelle, I’m so sorry about Chicago having the worst air. Hopefully, tomorrow the it will start improving. I love your “fairy dust” image and the line “sense-tickles pink crepe delight…” especially with your /s/, /c/, and /k/ sounds.
“fairy dust myrtle” and “sense-tickles” delight me, Michelle. I hope your air improves soon!
Thanks Jane, it’s slowly improving.
Michelle, your “sense-tickles pink crepe delight” is lovely to imagine in this still imperfect air we have…
Margaret, thank you for the beautiful photo of crepe myrtle. A whole tree of those flowers must be stunning. Your poem perfectly captures your photo, or I should probably say your photo perfectly captures your poem. I especially love this line, “sprinkling summer with pink snow.” After reading Jane’s poem, I thought of how the word /show/ rhymes with your “snow.” I’m curious when the myrtle petals drop, does it look like pink snow flurries? Thank you for your inspiration.
milkweed muffins await
monarch butterflies,
bumble bees buzz over
lavender colored catmint
catmint flowers part
revealing a wild Tigress
sniffing her favorite plant
in her jungle garden
Gail Aldous draft
What a colorful, sensuous scene you’ve created, Gail. It’s like a mini-drama!
Thank you, Janet. I appreciate that. Is it clear that the wild Tigress is my domestic cat named Tigress. I just thought I should have put quotations around “wild.” When I’m in the garden, Tigress always sneaks through some plant or silently appears like her wild cousin. Thankfully, she isn’t a hunter like her wild cousins. In fact, as soon as she comes outside birds chirp loudly at her until she hunkers down and hides in the garden.
Gail, back to answer your question–YES, your Tigress intent is completely clear. 🙂
Beautiful crepe myrtle, Margaret! “Pink snow” is right. Here’s my offering:
Poetry, cat, coffee
Summer morning bliss
More sun, extra minutes
We’ll read and linger
Love the linger of a summer morning.