| This summertime poem, set in a heatwave, speaks of | | | | Hot comes the days,to languorand avoid the warm; |
| the joy and langour, the happiness of a hot day. Set in | | | | waitevening after sunsethour of cool; summer |
| Marin County's Corte Madera, north of San Francisco, | | | | sendsmessages with earlier sunset,darker morning, |
| the work written in 2000 has backward running | | | | laze to latewakening and night goodwith Sunday that |
| sentences. Do try out the audio reading to get a better | | | | special time. |
| feel for the rhythm of the piece. Humorous in its | | | | Come festive days, wanted weather. |
| approach, the poem is comprised of images that set a | | | | Straw hats, suits, shorts, lacegown, khakis; costumed |
| pastoral picture after Church on a Sunday. | | | | for rollerskating go the mother-daughter duo,costumed |
| What does one do with a hot day, in a heatwave. One | | | | things grown up growing. |
| thing is visit an ice cream store. There one finds | | | | And there the grandmother sachet forgranddaughter |
| something cold and good, refreshing and pleasant. The | | | | from the ice creamstore where flavors abide (many). |
| surprising respite in the midst of the heatwave, and the | | | | Do, yes, heat wave people talk,eat ice cream (cones |
| festive air of the store and its many customers, | | | | and Sundays)yogurt, while children delightheat wave, |
| including children, adds to a kind of ballyhoo celebration. | | | | hot, warm today. |
| One poetry critic said of another piece similar to this | | | | Two Christenings, (three months andfour years) |
| one, that it had the tone of a revival meeting. This one | | | | twenty years laterdialogue of pulpits in one |
| not so much a revival, but a way of enjoying a hot | | | | sermon;many rejoinders of Septemberheat wave; |
| summer day. That is a revival of kind, is it not? | | | | coolness desired must. |
| Summer weather ballyhoo rejoice heat waveby Peter | | | | What a good report this weatherbrings in blazing |
| Menkin | | | | ballyhoo rejoice. |