“The time will come when winter will ask you what you were doing all summer.”
~ Henry Clay
Yes, it’s true. I do not like summer.
It feels like the whole world is sleepwalking. Clocks forget to tick. Everybody is out of town, and it’s definitely not business as usual.
I like business as usual.
Especially in my pajamas.
Here’s the thing. I’m all for relaxing, de-stressing, and having a jolly good time. But something about summer spells L-A-Z-Y. And with lazy comes GUILT.
Shouldn’t I clean out the pantry?
Call the piano tuner?
Invite friends to dinner?
Revise my WIP?
Marinate the chicken?
Research publishers?
Catch up on personal correspondence?
Decide what to wear in case Bob Dylan stops by?
Well, no.
I’m way too lazy.
And, God help me, I’m starting to really like it.
BLUES
by Elizabeth Alexander
I am lazy, the laziest
girl in the world. I sleep during
the day when I want to, ’til
my face is creased and swollen,
’til my lips are dry and hot. I
eat as I please: cookies and milk
after lunch, butter and sour cream
on my baked potato, foods that
slothful people eat, that turn
yellow and opaque beneath the skin.
Sometimes come dinnertime Sunday
I am still in my nightgown, the one
with the lace trim listing because
I have not mended it. Many days
I do not exercise, only
consider it, then rub my curdy
belly and lie down. Even
my poems are lazy.
(Rest is here.)
Today’s Poetry Friday Roundup is at Biblio File.
*Yawn*
Jama's Alphabet Soup 
You saw me cop to laziness, today, too. To laze—that’s a verb, right?
One thing funny about that poem is that she says she writes “briefly.” That’s actually a longish poem, which I’m sure she knows the full irony of.
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Summer is…
…more daylight and BIGGER To-Do Lists, that’s for sure!
I’m OK w/ summer but hate hot humid weather for long bouts. Living in New England –especially where I am– really seems to have the best balance of the four seasons.
I could probably live in a place where one season is a little longer. But I could never live in a place that doesn’t have all four.
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I’m with you on no, no, no, no… but you must whip together a pie when Bob Dylan stops by and invite us all over. Or at least get out your camera.
I do enjoy life with its seasons, some more lazy than others.
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Yes, you’re absolutely right. She’s fighting that battle even in her “lazy” poem.
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Re: Summer is…
I’m with you on hating heat and humidity. It can get pretty unbearable in VA. AC is a must. I like seasonal changes, too. Summer just feels so vacuous . . .
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You got it! Maybe I can convince him to make his famous meatball recipe.
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AC is a must.
Fortunately, the trees make it so we usually only have two or three days where it’s necessary to cool our house w/ AC. Fans and closing shades does the trick.
Which is good as I’m not a big fan of AC-living. And quite coincidently, I was looking in the Men’s Room mirror here at work and thinking how the mega-AC here makes it’s so I only wear “winter clothes” all year long. It’s a cost-saver!
🙂
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It’s a lovely poem, but if she’s being lazy, what does that make me, posting a youtube found poem today? Eesh. Oh, wait — I did get the piano tuned last week. One small spasm of virtue amidst the slumbrous summer… (Whew!)
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I guess you’re ahead of me, then, living your life in tune :)! Have a good weekend!
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I LOVE lazy, Jama. I’m glad you’ve found the joy too 🙂
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I’ll try not to make it a year round habit ;)!
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*sigh*
Love that poem. Thanks for introducing me to it.
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I am so blessed that summer for me means I have time to play with my kids, take a nap, AND catch up on some of my ToDo list home projects. I can do without the heat but I love the light.
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Glad you liked it! 🙂
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I like the longer hours of light too. I just want to make the best possible use of that gift . . .
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Oh, I do like this one.
I am so very lazy, but summer means that traffic isn’t as bad on the way to work because the government has gone to the beach, but left me in the city.
But longer hours a daylight mean more time to spend reading in the hammock and the heat means there’s always an excuse for lemonade.
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Like the lemonade idea. Any hammocks come with air conditioning :)?
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Wow, I like that poem. It speaks to me now, in particular. I’m slow in getting to Poetry Friday, but I’m glad I stopped by here to read that.
Jules, 7-Imp
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Join the lazy club!
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TadMack says: 🙂
See, laziness is relative — it’s Monday and I’m just now reading Poetry FRIDAY.
*sigh*
I hear ya on the guilt. I have so much to do, but can’t seem to pull it together. ANd I have no real excuse; Summer in Scotland means hailstorms!!
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Re: TadMack says: 🙂
You just need a little more time to ease out of the jet lag and climatize. I can’t imagine you being lazy, though. It’s very relative. Your version of lazy would be my version of high octane.
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