The Sum of All Summers
An Ekphrastic Sonnet
“Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.” --Henry James
Your ravishing, royal recumbency
Curls warmly around all dreams of summer
Making cold an ugly profanity
And the sun a pretender, poor mummer
With your soft orange, everything rhymes
No other curves are as fecund as yours
Your dreams make all others seem foolish crimes
Your rest ridicules all insipid chores
No oxymoron is your inert grace
More feline than any cat is your nap
Matchlessly eloquent: your silent face
Of the world you are, I would be a map
Sovereign of sultry, sashaying sweetness
Your heat cooks fragments into completeness
About the Creator
D. J. Reddall
I write because my time is limited and my imagination is not.
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Comments (6)
Nice job!
I love that painting. I love how it inspired this poem. I love your poem. How's that for a hat-trick?
Lovely poem! Love it ❤.
Oooo, I learned two new words today, recumbency and fecund! I loved your poem so much, especially these brilliant lines: "More feline than any cat is your nap" "Of the world you are, I would be a map"
So beautiful. You’ve done it again!
You have beautifully captured the true seance of summer...loved your poem!