(Mid August, Vineyard Haven)
Cardinal swoops over the roof
Chickadee perches on the screen
Behind the songbirds’ companionable chatter,
Motors roar — boats and planes
Voices rise across the water
Metal masts clang in distant wakes
Smell of onions cooking drifts up from the kitchen
Pale clouds drift across the languid sky
Trees and pond stand still in windless afternoon
There’s space enough between the sounds
for each to take their turn
Later come the crickets
till the soft warm rain silences them
Though it can’t silence
the beat of party drums and tunes
and dance laughter
from the town across the pond.
©Wendy Mulhern
August 15, 2012