Love Letter to August (poem)

''August, you have matured into your days and autumn's first leaf should fall any day now.''

Due to the formatting and line breaks, this poem is best viewed on the web.

August, among the alpenglow

and heat that softly shimmers across 

this vibrant field, you are the jubilant 

sun that bears my name.

Nectar-drenched honeybees swarm

across the field as you stroke my hair 

with your strawberry-gold fingertips,

and wild apricots drop from their branches,

begging to be eaten.

August, you have matured into your days

and autumn’s first leaf should fall any day now.

Meanwhile, I'll gorge on these wild apricots

and sprint across this busy field while you stroke 

my hair with your strawberry-gold fingertips.

About Love Letter to August…

As part of a small project last summer, I wrote micro poems for each summer month. This summer, I revisited those poems. Fire Flowers, a revision of the poem I dedicated to July last summer, was published last month. Unfortunately, I never got around to revising Junes. With "Love Letter to August," I strived to create the impression that it sounded like, as I like to call it, ''poetry written in cursive,'' especially because I’m a Leo. But, before I go on any farther, I'd like to share with you the original piece that inspired this new one:

‘‘August, 

I dream of your waltzing 

grass, motherly 

trees, and jubilant

sun that bears my name.’’

Photo by Catherine Kay Greenup on Unsplash

Poetry written in cursive or cursive poetry, is simply expressive poetry that does not require the use of big-fancy words. It's all about imagery, you see, and I'm no expert, but I consider great poetry to be like a painting. My usage of language and imagery were not as expressive a year ago as they are now. What brought me to this point? Books and time! Because I'm a young writer, my writing style continues to evolve over time. Because I strive to read from a diverse spectrum of writers with varying approaches, I've learned how to be more expressive with my words.

It's crucial to remember that no matter how high your poetry ranks on the literary food chain, you should always be a student of learning. That is how you improve, and I will never stop learning! In conclusion, the ultimate purpose of this poem is for it to be ‘‘emotive,’’ which Google defines as ‘‘arousing or able to arouse intense feeling.’’ I'm sure this isn't the final draft, but I hope it gives you an idea of what I'm aiming for.

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That’s all for now, Victorians! Thank you for reading, and do share your thoughts in the comment section below. Keep striving, and I’ll see you all next week!

PS, just a quick heads up: I start my second year of college next Monday, literally three days after my birthday. Because of this, my regular send out schedule may change. I'm considering uploading three times a month instead of seven times a month (if we’re counting the hours I put into Notes), but I won't know for sure until I get a feel for my classes. I will notify you all if I need to make any modifications. With that being said, I've had a fantastic summer here on Substack! Thank you for making my first three months so memorable. I wish all students a fruitful academic year.

- Victorian Voices, Somiah Nettles xx