Away, not home,
this continental heat.
The air pretends
this North Atlantic rock
is worldly
The smiles of the natives
lean manic
as we clutch at multipack lager
and disposable charcoal,
grasp at the living myth
of a cloudless sky
and give ourselves to these gods
Our worship sees us sacrifice
meat and skin,
both burnt to early hours regret
and delicate, bathroom sorrows
A sporadic bacchanal
whose scarcity ensures
that be it working week,
weekend or holiday,
feverish
we’ll pay the tithe
Sunstroke and/or hangover
prove penance for our lapse
from the frigid, three bar
Protestant norm,
but these exotic gods will beguile again
even as the blistered skin still peels
Jul 31, 2020
Jul 31, 2020 at 10:38 AM UTC
Away, not home,
this continental heat.
The air pretends
this North Atlantic rock
is worldly
The smiles of the natives
lean manic
as we clutch at multipack lager
and disposable charcoal,
grasp at the living myth
of a cloudless sky
and give ourselves to these gods
Our worship sees us sacrifice
meat and skin,
both burnt to early hours regret
and delicate, bathroom sorrows
A sporadic bacchanal
whose scarcity ensures
that be it working week,
weekend or holiday,
feverish
we’ll pay the tithe
Sunstroke and/or hangover
prove penance for our lapse
from the frigid, three bar
Protestant norm,
but these exotic gods will beguile again
even as the blistered skin still peels
It got to 34C/93F here today. Not such a common thing, there will be casualties...
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