LATE IN AUGUST


It is surely not July,
High hazy sun, grandchildren jumping off the dock.
And not October,
Red and gold against evergreen hills,
Nor even September,
Whose yellowing ferns hint at what’s to come.
The last week in August is its own time,
Campers, tourists mostly gone,
Quiet on the pond:
The angle of the sun,
Cerulean light out of Canada ,
Distant warmth on your back,
Walking past the meadow.
Late in August in New Hampshire —
What it tells you is this:
There’s still time,
But maybe not as much as you thought.

“Late in August” appeared in Miller’s Pond, Winter 2009



Robert Demaree is the author of four collections of poems, including Fathers and Teachers (April 2007) and Mileposts (October 2009), both published by Beech River Books. The winner of the 2007 Conway, N.H., Library Poetry Award, he is a retired school administrator with ties to North Carolina, Pennsylvania and New Hampshire. He has had approximately 450 poems published or accepted by 100 periodicals, including Louisville Review, Miller’s Pond, Ghoti and Thick With Conviction. For further information see http://www.demareepoetry.blogspot.com