This witty poem was awarded third place in the Cape Cod Times Primetime 2003 Poetry & Prose Contest.
The author, Kate Connolly lives in Centerville, MA.
Weathering
By Kate Connolly
Summer is telling on skinny old ladies
Who lack insulation when it’s hotter than Hades
And must endure heat waves as well as they can
With a glass of iced tea and their grandmother’s fan,
Wearing cover-up clothing designed to conceal
Pale stick-figure limbs unappealingly real,
Plus paper-thin limbs best kept out of reach
Of harsh UV rays at an oceanside beach.
They’re obliged to take shelter from estival scorch
By sitting in wicker on an old-fashioned porch
Where they marvel at women of fine heft and girth
Who can saunter through summer like salt of the earth
Wearing bright sleeveless jerseys and the latest in shorts
(Which indicates pep and a penchant for sports),
Their substantial figures just sturdy enough
For simmering smoothly while strutting their stuff.
So the spindly old ladies with casual glee
Swallow regular doses of Vitamin D
While rehashing the days when, so nubile, so slim,
They could sprint to the sea for a saltwater swim
Where they’d gracefully romp clad in slightest attire
Giving warm-weather lovers fair parts to admire.
But the seasons do change, summer’s heat does diminish
And though wispy old ladies may abide to the finish,
They rejoice when the chill wind of autumn arrives
Bringing bright bulky sweaters back into their lives,
Also ponchos and parkas and Polartec fleece
And soft puffy jackets filled with down plucked from geese,
Thus bolstered and padded they tend to forget
About down-the-road summers they haven’t yet met.