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.