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.
