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Aug 27
poem challenge: August
AvaClaire

August

I can only wonder
when I drive down 
dirt roads in august
if I have blinked
or if it is just 
telephone pole shadows
flitting over the hood
like camera shutters

and it feels like just about 
everything is overcooked in 
august
july ladybugs don't move when poked
and litter my windowsils
dry and cracking with the paint
brittle as corn kernel husks

august gives me blunt sqaures
of droop-eyed sunlight 
falling crooked on the hardwood floor
and I lie on my stomach, 
feet casually drifting somwhere above, 
and try forever to find the edge
of those sharp-shouldered shadows
where I will be able to peel them
up and off the floor
before the cruel august sun
bleaches the wood
  • AvaClaire's blog
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Posted: 08.27.21
About the Author: AvaClaire
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Discussion

Comments

  1. [email protected]
    Aug 28, 2021

    Ava, this is August! You've captured it in all its light and heat and sluggishness, the "droop-eyed sunlight" and "sharp-shouldered shadows." I love this poem!

    YWP Executive Director
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  1. infinitelyinfinite3
    Aug 28, 2021

    This poem is incredible--I cannot but feel as if I have just fallen into your words, into the dormant heat of summer.

    Brown person, LGBTQIA+ member, overthinker, and book and music lover.
    I am not afraid of the Oxford comma, and you shouldn't be, either. ;)

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  1. Scarry Night
    Aug 30, 2021

    I love how you capture the true feeling of August. How summer is slowing down, how the sticky heat makes the world seem so still. Wonderful job!

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YWP is a creative, online community of teen writers and visual artists. We're based in Burlington, VT, and we welcome young creators from anywhere!
Young Writers Project | 47 Maple St., Suite 216 | Burlington, VT 05401
501(c)(3) nonprofit established in 2006
Contact: Susan Reid, Executive Director: [email protected]; (802) 324-9538