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aestival.

When you’re warm—September, the cars radiating and everyone you pass
stripped to the baseline of propriety,
flimsy paper fans and too-large hats become shields—
someone is always there on 4th street, soaking in the chill of burnt sienna bricks

idly gazing down at fractured concrete, letting
the wall absorb his excess thoughts and warmth. You keep striding past
the small crowds, trying to outrun the heat, but it’s too hot to run
from anything, too tiring, the thought

of your sandals beating into
unforgiving sidewalks.  So you walk onward,
past the chipped-paint storefronts and
the old instruments behind the grimy pawn-shop window.

This must be why jazz cascades from speakers
at an andante pace, sauntering over parking meters
too hot to touch, to skim
the bowed heads of the chapel masses

praying and thanking God
for each wayward zephyr

Author notes

option: seasons
title credit goes to aanika for introducing me to the word as an option in one of her contests

A contest entry

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Comments

1 - 5 of 5

  • Blue-Rose Beauty gold member
    November 10

    Edit | Reply
    Can you tell me what the word Aestival means? I've always been curious. Thanks.

    I liked the description in this. Nice vocab and nice formation. It seems a bit more like a story.

    Thanks for entering, I liked it

    - Blue beaut


  • etoile
    April 3

    Edit | Reply
    this has such amazing imagery! and i LOVE the title. it's such a beautiful word. the last two lines and the stanza before that were my favourite. this was beautiful.
    goodluck in the contest <3


  • landmark
    April 2

    Edit | Reply
    that's funny because i've been using that word for awhile, one of my favorites!

    beautifully done, really captures the essence of summer. great concrete images that you can really picture and feel....

    thank you for entering!

1 - 5 of 5