Summer Days

Summer haiku from a prompt

Created on Midjourney

Rainy Days

Created on Midjourney

Splatter of raindrops
Teeming sheets of grey streaked glass
Boots splash in puddles

Sunny Days

Created on Midjourney

Blue skies overhead
Golden kisses warm my face
Hiking trail beckons

Dog Days

Created on Midjourney

Unrelenting heat
Seek out airconditioned space
Maybe movie time

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A few weeks ago, Jason McBride published a fun haiku titled “Intergalactic Summer Smores.” At the end of his post, he added a prompt: Write a haiku or series of haiku about what summer means to you. Feel free to use either the 5-7-5 or free verse formats. Naturally, I wrote three.

Summer means many things to me. It brings rain and sun, both of which invite me outdoors, which is my favorite place to be. I love walking, though I don’t enjoy being cold, so do less of this during the winter months.

Summer is about blue skies and mud puddles, and the feel of both sun and rain on my face. It’s about playing outside with my grandsons, and walking with my dog. It’s about birthdays celebrated in parks, water fights, beaches, and cottages. It’s about friends and family and rejuvenation of spirit.

And then there are the dog days of summer when “Only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun.” It’s a time of slowing down, cooling off, and finding somewhere airconditioned to be. Movie theaters are one of my favorites.

The quote is believed to have been coined by Rudyard Kipling, though it famously appears in Noel Coward’s song “Mad Dogs and Englishmen.” As for the dog days of summer, they actually have nothing to do with dogs, though even they don’t enjoy those steaming hot days. According to Wikipedia:

They were historically the period following the heliacal rising of the star system Sirius (known colloquially as the "Dog Star"), which Hellenistic astrology connected with heat, drought, sudden thunderstorms, lethargy, fever, mad dogs, and bad luck. They are now taken to be the hottest, most uncomfortable part of summer in the Northern Hemisphere.

So, maybe dogs are mentioned, but really, the quote refers to days following the yearly rising of Sirius.

What does summer mean to you? Do you have favorite activities? Leave a comment (or a haiku) below.