from Seasons [Summer]
by Delphine Sky
Composed after sundown.
A wavering call,
the Loon announces itself – on
Lake Superior,
mates at the edge of water, builds a
nest of reeds and grass.
The Loon’s haunting wail,
echoes in the Summer sky glinting
off the lake —
awake in this forest tent,
still breath listening to the night.
Eyes, red as the sun
on Lake
Kabetogama, wail across
still reeds —
a pair of fog horns calling
Summer to the Northern
Lights.
Diving off the rocks,
our heavy bodies sank
deep into the lake’s mouth —
we hoot and holler for
game, too far to hear
parents call.
pillaging to fatten up
on their way to somewhere else.
The boys on Cape Cod
dig frogs out of mudflats, like the
Least Sandpiper
Every summer they
migrate to sandy beaches
— rainbow umbrellas
crowd the shore and eat
corndogs; sky a burst with
fireworks.
Red, white and blue stripes —
July’s flag waves in the wind.
Flocks of visitors campout
to toast bonfire marshmallows, while
dogs bark at the shorebirds.
Adolescent boys,
green as the Sandpiper’s
legs — rich trills and high notes,
their fluffed chests of bravado
strut past sunbathing bikinis.
back to University & College Poetry Prizes