Mag 75 - Dog Days

Dog Days

I sat on the top step of the porch

Partaking of my second glass of iced coffee

And watched the clouds boil

Over the nearby hills

Their dark bottoms hinting

At a possible relief to the drought.

Dad had called these the dog days

He grew up in the sultry south

I in the intra mountain west

For me dog days were those where we prayed for rain

And the dogs cowered under the porch

As protection from the thunder clouds.

The horizon is lit by bolts of lightning

The purr kids dash up the steps

Past me into the studio flicking their tails

Yes, I am an idiot, I say to the dogs hiding beneath me

But I love the smell of ozone in the air

The hint of damp in the breeze.

As the first huge drops of rain fall

I surrender my position

Hoping it is not for just a promise this time

Let the sky open up and christen the earth

Please dog days

Bring the drenching rains.

J. Binford-Bell

July 2011

Notes: 

The dog days are the most sultry days of summer. The actual dates vary greatly from region to region, depending on latitude and climate. Dog Days can also define a time period or event that is very hot or stagnant, or marked by dull lack of progress. The name comes from the ancient belief that Sirius, also called the Dog Star, in close proximity to the sun was responsible for the hot weather.

Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. With a visual apparent magnitude of −1.46, it is almost twice as bright as Canopus, the next brightest star. The name "Sirius" is derived from the Ancient Greek Σείριος Seirios ("glowing" or "scorcher"). The star has the Bayer designation Alpha Canis Majoris (α CMa). What the naked eye perceives as a single star is actually a binary star system, consisting of a white main sequence star of spectral type A1V, termed Sirius A, and a faint white dwarf companion of spectral type DA2, termed Sirius B. The distance separating Sirius A from its companion varies between 8.1 and 31.5 AU.