The sense of time passing is never keener than in mid-August. Well, at least not for me, and I assume, for other teachers who are not yet back in the classroom. The days are bittersweet as we seek to squeeze every juicy moment out of them, even as they pass too swiftly. You can smell change in the air.
I’ve been writing a lot about time and August in my journal, and it’s nice to know I’m in good company with Sylvia Plath and Mary Oliver.
Ah, August…
For Tuesday’s Slice of Life, I wrote about my fascination with the hay bales in the fields, and shared some musings from my notebook:
“As fall speeds toward me, I feel a bit like that about my summer. It’s like I’m bundling up all my experiences, those bright sweet spots of summer, and neatly tucking them away. As if I’m counting on them to sustain me and nourish me through the coming months.” (Click here to see the full post.)
Here are some other notebook musings:
In August
Cicadas thrum
like a metronome
marking
time’s passing
And then I turned toward my beloved limerick form to try for something a bit more light-hearted:
In August there once was a teach
who pushed thoughts of school out of reach.
Looming tasks she eschewed
and as e-mails accrued,
she took herself off to the beach!
©Molly Hogan
Wishing you the best of Augusts and plenty of time to go enjoy this week’s Poetry Friday Roundup, hosted by Denise Krebs at Dare to Care.
Love the limerick and the nod to two iconic poets. Thanks for the chuckle!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I just love writing limericks! I’m glad you enjoyed this one.
LikeLike
LImericks always serve you well…and make us grin and chuckle.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Writing limericks is a lot of fun for me. 🙂
LikeLike
”Off to the beach!” Take some fabulous pictures and soak up the peaceful time.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I didn’t make it to the beach until this morning. It was moody and mysterious! The perfect place to spend this last day before school begins tomorrow.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great, Molly! I shared Mary Oliver’s poem with my berry-loving PNW family. What a powerful collection of August love here. I totally remember that feeling (sometimes with a little minor trauma of getting ready to go back to school). Your limerick is a joy, Molly! Thanks!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m so glad you shared the poem with your family. I love it when poems are winging around from one person to another.
LikeLiked by 1 person
[heart] Stephanie Paterson reacted to your message: ________________________________
LikeLiked by 1 person
Loved singing along with your limerick. Getting “eschewed” and “accrued” in one limerick! Well done MBH!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I wrote a lot of limericks with my dad when he was ill. They are dear to my heart!
LikeLike
MBH, that is very cool to know of your limerick writing with your pop. I played cribbage with my 94-year-old dad in his last years!
LikeLiked by 1 person
What gorgeous photos! Limericks for the win. They seem to be a specialty of yours. Although, I love, love, love cicadas thrum.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Those cicadas are such a strong signal of summer’s ending and autumn’s advance!
LikeLike
Yes, Molly, take that narrator to the beach!!! LOVE your limerick, especially all the lovely language!! So fun and so resonant!!! Oh, I love the richness of your hay bale reflections, too!!! Thanks for all this goodness!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Mona! I did make it to the beach today (Monday) and it was just lovely! Tomorrow I’m off to my first day back at school.
LikeLike
Ha, your limerick made me laugh! And your notebook musings are lyrical and lovely.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Karen. Limericks are great for lightening the mood!
LikeLike
From Florida I do HOPE you did take yourself off to the Beach. I feel the angst in your diminishing calendar days & wonder if in the first week or so of school, you can hold a class … outside? I treasure the few teachers thru the yrs. who were able to do that. I realize now they had to jump thru a lot of hoops to bring us into fresh air for a lesson. Maybe you can’t do that, but maybe you can have big blown up “outside” pictures all over the class room & students can point out the scenes that are similar to what they’ve seen. I bet they would love to see blow-ups of some of your Nature Photography, which is incredible, Molly
LikeLiked by 1 person
It took a couple of days, but I did make it to the beach. It was all things foggy and moody and wonderful! Thanks for pushing me to get outside with my class. We are fortunate to have lovely grounds that include wooded trails. Too often I do NOT make use of them. You’ve got me thinking…
LikeLike
I know some Limericks too!
Yours is more appropriate for the general public, though
LikeLike