Hail, bright crescent, as raspberries redden,
as milkweed pushes out seedbeds to bloom;
great blue heron spreads wings across heaven;
young buck nibbles grass before night’s first gloom.
Aster, star-flower, beach pea bloom and wilt.
Marsh mallow and marigold have their days.
Mullein unsheathes sun-sword above green hilt;
St. John’s Wort absorbs summer’s longest rays.
Yet pied-rump fawn lies fallen and fly-egged,
with haunches gnawed off and ribcage shattered.
Moth meets web of spider long-legged;
maple leaf droops and oak leaf grows tattered
where beetles feast on oaths made in May,
contracts signed between predator and prey.
This one is way late. Apologies for the delay, but I hope you enjoy it. The more of this series I write (and we are now only thirteen sonnets from the end), the harder it is to produce them on time. So many themes to draw together, and so much of the sense of the season to find… it’s becoming difficult to figure out new patterns. Sometime soon I have to read the whole series beginning to end, and see where I am.
Does anyone want to help get them published?
