Vox Populi
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Michael Simms: Two Summer Songs
August
I can’t help but be in love
with the blissful light of lemonade at noon
And gazpacho in the evening
a slice of lime hanging by its wound
I trust with all my heart
the hot walk of the girls in flip flops
headed to the blue eye of the pool
I believe in sweat
the way it hangs from my chin
falls to the scalding sidewalk
merges with the breath of men
A cloud rises above the shimmering city
flies over the mountains and falls in the sea
rising and falling and rising again
~~
Dandelion
In the cracks of asphalt,
in the broken ground,
in the abandoned field
of the demolished house,
among the tumble of brick
and block and rebar rising out of rubble,
out of bomb crater and bulldozed gravel,
out of disaster and mayhem,
out of ugly order and disorder,
out of beautiful neglect
wilding occurs, so
on thin white wings
the seed settles
unnoticed,
bringing life to ruined places.
Michael Simms is the founding editor of Vox Populi. His books include collections of poetry such as American Ash (Ragged Sky, 2020) and novels such as Bicycles of the Gods (Madville 2022).
Copyright 2021, 2024 Michael Simms. Dandelion was first published in The Plant-Human Quarterly.
Top image source: Natasha’s Kitchen
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Thank you Barbara and Michael! Yes Barbara, I am interested in reading your blog, The Poetry and Prose of Barbara Huntington.
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love love love both of these, every word!
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Thank you, Claire!
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Michael I just wanted to add and give greater emphasis on what to me means the symbol of a seed in your poem Dandelion. I spoke about how in human civilization, for millenniums, we have repeated our Hopes and Visions for reconstructing over man-created disaster and mayhem/ out of ugly order and disorder…
I thought afterwards, there are possibly three things which humanity will always need when it settles in a new place; and that is an ABUNDANCE OF WATER; and over and above this abundance, we will also and always need an overwhelming amount of HOPE AND VISION; it’s the seed…
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A beautiful thought, Luz. Thank you.
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What first confronted me when I started reading your poem, “August” was the voice in the poem. I clearly heard the voice of your thoughts. As you know, thoughts are not audible, but I just didn’t read the words, I heard this voice tell them to me. It wasn’t a speaking voice, it was a voice in contemplation, reflection and inspiration. It was very leading and it flowed into the words, such as “the blissful light of lemonade at noon” and “the hot walk of the girls in flip flops headed to the blue eye of the pool.” You presented these everyday experiences and its props, with such heightened appreciation, and great beauty. It was a teaching moment, of how to see our world. The poems point of view, and the inner voice of the poet, and over the poem assigned great beauty to everyday objects.
It brings-on a repentance, much like,” Don’t cast your pearls before swine or they will trample them under their feet.” Have I been the swine, ungrateful and arrogant” You want to see new sights, just observe what’s around you with new eyes!”
The poem Dandelion is also powerful, ” out of bomb crater and bulldozed gravel/ out of disaster and mayhem/ out of ugly order and disorder…
out of beautiful neglect/wilding occurs, so/
on thin white wings/the seed settles/unnoticed/
bringing life to ruined places.
IT SPEAKS AGAIN and has been speaking the same way over and over again for millenniums, usually over manmade disasters and mayhem. None the less manmade hope and vision speaks again and believes it can reconstruct again. The thoughts come in thin white wings and settles to “bring life to ruined places.”
.
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What a profound insight into the two poems, Luz. I’m honored. Thank you!
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very poetic.
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Thank you, Saleh! Your translations of Arabic poetry have been an inspiration to me.
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the credit first goes to Scott Minar who was behind the curtains and to the smart Jewish poet Philip Terman, my friend and a friend of Kafka.
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Wonderful to give credit to our collaborators!
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Two beauties, Michael ❤️
And power on, dandelions!
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Thanks, Lisa! Yea, I love dandelions.
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I find these poems to be very fine sips of their summer subjects! Perfect timing Michael! We happen to be in Maine til Monday, am out of my schedule and “State of being” this moment.
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Thanks, Sean. Love your poems.
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Delightful poems, Michael!
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Thanks, Robbi!
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Ahhhhhhhh! Thank you!
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Thank YOU, Barbara.
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Love these, Mike, especially ‘Dandelion’!
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Thanks, Syd!
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Gorgeous, gorgeous poems, Michael. I don’t think I ever felt the heat more immediately than how you deal with it in ‘August’ (made me sweat even in Lima’s winter cold). And, oh, the dandelions, the lions teeth, magic of my childhood on the side of an asphalted road.
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Thank you, Rose Mary. I often eat the dandelions in our yard. Very nutritious and tasty.
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Yes, we made dandelion salad.
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Rosemary. You inspired a poem title with your final phrase: On the Side of An Asphalted Road. Do I have your permission to use those words? Will be about the side of an asphalted road in the Aran Islands.
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You are welcome, Jim Newsome. Just send me the finished poem to enjoy!
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Now will have to write the poem. I found an email address on your web page. So can send it there. Give me a couple of weeks. Thanks.
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Such hopeful odes — and, as Jim Newsome says, such a joy to read aloud! The light of lemonade: a perfect, perfect image. The hot sweat on the “scalding” sidewalk (the sounds there too!) And in August that “beautiful neglect”. All this makes me want to write a poem right now!
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Thanks, Laure-Anne. I love the music of your poems as well. Love, M.
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Love how you delayed the subject in the last poem, giving the feel of long summer days.
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Thanks for noticing the hypotaxis, Jo! Glad it works here.
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Both poems beg to be read aloud.
Dandelions reminds me of my backyard in May, the still fertile cracks in the alley, the neighbors who wish they lived upwind.
But August got me thinking and visualizing how you mix so well the ancient elements of air, earth, fire, and water, as the poet ponders the seaside, poolside scene. I imagined a Brit from London, kicking back at some Spanish resort, floating between love and the mystery where the clouds meet the sea. Flip flops? I guess you aren’t in ancient Rome.
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No flip flops in Ancient Rome? I’m so disappointed. It’s always a joy to read your comments here, Jim. Thanks for sharing.
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A joy to read these two poems. This ending of ‘Dandelion’ is great:
the seed settles
unnoticed,
bringing life to ruined places.
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Thanks, John! These poems were fun to write.
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I love both of these poems.
Sent from my iPad
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Thanks, Carolyn!
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