Fever Dreams of Summer
- Emily E. Finke
- Jul 14, 2022
- 3 min read
Updated: Jul 19, 2022
A free-verse poem by Emily E. Finke
Florida! How glorious are your Summers!
With your blazing Sun and decadent showers, Summer is a fever dream of every Summer before.
The fiery heat of the afternoons sends a chill through my body and fills my mind with déjà vu of long past Summers playing hide-and-seek with the Thermometer.
As the day begins, it is my turn to seek. I head for the great outdoors, but my search is in vain as the air is mild and damp from the previous night’s storm.
I lose myself in the glorious morning aided by the distraction of my seasonal companions.
The summer brings family from near and far, cousins by the dozen, to join in this wonderful game.
Alas, my comrades and I, being too young for such attentive work, soon forget that for which we seek.
For children, Summer is a time for play and no work; fun without rest; laughter unceasing.
Children are silly about such things for the game was never just a game.
The hours pass quickly in the sand and sun. A campground on the beach with the ocean on your doorstep is every child’s delight.
The sun is climbing higher now, casting its fiery glow on all that lay before it.
The shallow water, once a refreshing playground, quickly becomes a sauna, turned by the imposing Summer Sun.
In despair, I am reminded of the cruel game the Thermometer has demanded of us.
The laughter of my comrades fades. The fun begins to cease as our playground is stripped from us by the Summer afternoon.
The still, steaming air is solemn as we watch the thermometer rise over one hundred degrees.
The game of hide-and-seek is now over.
Never play games with the thermometer for you will be outsmarted every time.
A smart man could see, but a child is not too keen to see that my comrades and I were never the Seekers. We were the Seeked.
Ashamed of how easily we were fooled, we cousins by the dozen march back from whence we came.
Safe from the rising Thermometer as it continues to Seek its prey in the outdoors, my comrades and I pile in the camper, refreshed by the A/C.
A child’s pride is not easily wounded, or rather, it is quickly mended.
The laughter once again rings out from a dozen chattering voices.
A dozen people in a twenty-nine foot camper, piled in bunches, is a sight to behold.
A teenager sits in the kitchen with the babies, watching movies and eating snacks.
The pre-teens and teens lay piled on the sofa, screaming with delight over a video-game.
The little boys sit ‘round the table, fighting bad guys with their Lego men.
The Thermometer is once again forgotten, and its companion, the Sun, is non-existent in the happy world inside the camper.
The Thermometer does not take kindly to being forgotten or replaced with fun and laughter.
In a rage, the temperature continues to rise.
The Clouds take pity on the children in the camper and come to their aid. Now is their turn to play hide-and seek, but the Thermometer is not a gracious loser.
The Thermometer has the Sun on its side, but the Clouds have the Rain.
The battle begins but the Thermometer and the Sun are no match for the Clouds and the Rain.
Ah! Sweet Clouds that block out the burning rays of the Sun!
Ah! Sweet Rain that cools the skin and cleans the air!
The Thermometer surrenders to inevitable defeat.
Lulled by the pounding rain on the roof and the peaceful exhaustion of the Summer heat and intense play, my comrades and I grow weary.
One by one, we promenade through the shower, cleaning our sweaty, salty bodies. Nighttime is upon us.
Once again we pile in groups, some in bunks, some on sofas, happy to be near each other.
The Thermometer has gone into hiding, and we rest in peace to await another day and another game.
Thus is the way of a Florida Summer.
How glorious!
*This blog post is exclusive to members in The Community. Please do not share outside this site.
Read more like this
Author: Emily E. Finke
So beautiful and creative!! Love these!