Monday, August 27, 2012

Bye Bye Summer (a poem about the end of summer)

By far the most intimidating literary form, poetry has always been something I feared.  Writing a novel is one thing; page after page can be deftly spent exploring character and nuance.  Even short stories allow some wiggle room, but poetry suffers no literary fools.  Every word must evoke.  Every rhyme must chime.  And every stanza must foretell a bonanza.

But a writer must countenance no fear, so I put my quill to ink, and penned a peerless paean to the premature passing of summer.

Bye Bye, Summer

Bye bye, summer, you’re gone so fast,
But while you lasted, we had a blast.

No more time to sit on ass,
Time’s run out to siphon gas.

Bye bye, scuba
Bye bye, tuba

Empty the pool, it’s gross and murky,
And there’s nothing left we haven’t dried to make jerky.

Hoist the surfboard up onto its rack,
And bring the racehorse back to the track.

Bye bye, coyote
Bye bye, peyote

Stow the sleeping bags, we no longer need them,
Set loose the fighting dogs, we can’t afford to feed them.

Bid farewell to circus kin,
And drain the bathtub of homemade gin.

Bye bye, kippers
Bye bye, strippers

Bye bye, summer,
Bye bye.


For more exciting poems about the end of summer, or to learn more about cannibalistic sixteenth-century conquistador mummies, visit www.themummiesofblogspace9.com.

13 comments:

Lesley Diehl said...

Now we know, Bill. Not only can you write an exciting mystery set in Peru, but you also have a soul that loves to rhyme. I like poetry too, but I like to cheat and write lines that don't rhyme. That makes me less than sublime. Oh, oh. It's catching.

William Doonan said...

It is catching! I think I'm going to stick to mysteries for the most part. I don't know though - Poisoned Pairings was pretty poetic!

seabgb said...

Leave summer? No way. I'm not ready. But if I must, please let me leave with a bathtub of homemade gin.

William Doonan said...

OK, you can keep the gin, Seabgb, but today was my first day back at school, so I had to drain my tub!

Liane Spicer said...

Thank goodness we have summer year round here. I'd really miss the gin.

William Doonan said...

For me it's the circus kin - having to say goodbye really marks the end of fun!

LDoonan said...

I'm not sure if you consider circus kin good or bad, so I don't know if I've been insulted or not ... but it usually works that way with you!

Anonymous said...

I guess either way it's a compliment since you did say you had fun, but then, it could be you taking poetic license.

William Doonan said...

Carnival people to one side, circus people to the other, just like every summer. We don't want any more fights.

Eileen Obser said...

Hello Bill
Hello fall,
Summer's over
It was a ball.

Now it's time
To write and teach
No excuses...
No more beach.

Hit the books
Hit the keys
A novel's waiting
Write it, please.

William Doonan said...

Thanks, Ellen. That's great advice! Nice poem too.

Eugenia O'Neal said...

Loved that poem, Bill! Of course, summer continues here complete with scuba and, possibly, strippers though I couldn't say. I like Eileen's poem too.

William Doonan said...

Thanks, Eugenia. I wish I could go scuba diving today!