Coo ooo ooo, Coo ooo ooo, Coo ooo ooo, Coo ooo ooo –
each rising an octave higher,
the screechy koel rouses me from a sweaty, restless slumber.
Awash with light at 5 a.m.,my room is bright,
the sun already high.
I stretch out like a lazy cat,
reluctantly
to waken to another hot summer day.
Rubbing sleep from my eyes,
I look out on the lawn outside,
the patchy green amid dusty trees.
The sun high in a pale blue sky with misty haze.
White sheets from yesterday’s washing, dazzle whiter
As they hurt the eye and seem to flutter
in heat waves rising upwards in the balmy air.
In the early morning stillness
we slip into our swimwear and go down to the local pool.
And jump into the thick green mossy water
with tadpoles weaving in between
our open lips and twitchy toes
but still, we swim those twenty laps before we shower and head for home.
Once again we children squash into the car
our ears plugged with water,
hair dripping wet
and sticky skins with a film of sweat.
The smell of wet towels mingles
with chlorine and rubber slippers.
Wrinkled fingers and red itchy eyes
we rush home to a glass of
canned tomato juice,
crunchy toast with butter dripping through and through.
A glass of milk, a half boiled egg and
then a big fat juicy mango.
Its sweet juice dripping down chins and arms
we flop into the canvas chairs
On the broad verandah.
A summer morning well spent
Splashing in the local pool
A comic book
A radio show
A morning movie
A sandwich lunch
And then an afternoon
In a darkened room,
under a lazy groaning fan.
When I was a young girl, this is how I used to spend my summer. I would love to do the same now. Sadly, I can’t.
How do you spend your summer? Please do let me know in the comments below.
Ciao
Twenty- five Seven 
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