Dog Days
Long severe heat filled days—
August
Days as long and monotonous as a cicada’s buzz.
It is hard to appreciate the sameness—
Savor the oppression—
Thirty-one days…
Thirty-one days that are as stretched as they are temporary,
August lurches to a start and is superseded in a protracted “Poof.”
We must have our dog days
Forties or maybe fifties
Eras you should have enjoyed—
So much and so little was happening with work and the kids
And each day sleepwalking into the next
All those days slipped into:
Special hair treatments
And unsought doctor’s visits.
Eventually the white coat will say to you
This is finally something to worry about
And specifies pills
That sit on the shelf like a countdown clock.
About the Author: Marc Janssen has been writing poems since around 1980. Some people would say that was a long time but not a dinosaur. Early decrepitude has not slowed him down much; his verse can be found scattered around the world in places like Pinyon, Slant, Cirque Journal, Off the Coast and Poetry Salzburg also in his book November Reconsidered. Janssen coordinates the Salem Poetry Project- a weekly reading, the occasionally occurring Salem Poetry Festival, and was a nominee for Oregon Poet Laureate. For more information visit, marcjanssenpoet.com.
Image Credit: Harris & Ewing “Dog” (1934) Public domain photo courtesy of the Library of Congress
As It Ought To Be 