I’m Alive<\/p>\n
It’s summer, and I know I’m alive.
\nI used to endure it, dreaming away the days, as summer has no filter,
\nits brazenness abashes more timid souls,
\ncowering from its bold and sweaty hand
\naway into air conditioned, cool, dim interiors.<\/p>\n
My garden burgeons beyond my capacity to gather, but
\nit’s summer, and I know I’m alive.
\nQuart and pint glass jars filled with what I’ve processed
\nglimmer in jeweled rows on my kitchen shelves, despite exhaustion,
\nsummer’s bounty and abundance to be decanted on a winter’s day.<\/p>\n
I lay in the grass like I did as a child, transfusing sunlight
\nthrough skin into my core, just as then, because
\nit’s summer, and I know I’m alive.
\nMy hairs stand at attention as ants march across me,
\nthe grass stitching criss-cross patterns in my flesh.<\/p>\n
Birds gather by twos, tens, twenties around feeders
\nI provide, a learned dependence that delights me.
\nSquirrels, rabbits, raccoons, and opossums find shelter here, and
\nit’s summer and I know I’m alive
\nin company with these many in my secret walled garden.<\/p>\n
I lived for years avoiding summer’s brassy intrusion,
\nretreating from its sweat and buzz and bother.
\nLiving away from home in Texas, I longed for cold, but I’ve aged,
\nI keenly feel my body slowing as time passes, but for now,
\nit’s summer, and I know I’m alive.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I’m Alive It’s summer, and I know I’m alive. I used to endure it, dreaming away the days, as summer has no filter, its brazenness abashes more timid souls, cowering from its bold and sweaty hand away into air conditioned, cool, dim interiors. My garden…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":308,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-132972","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-miscellaneous"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132972","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/308"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=132972"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132972\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":144873,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132972\/revisions\/144873"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=132972"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=132972"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=132972"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}