10 Poems That Feel Like Summertime
Poetry carries us through seasons. In the winter, we may seek comfort and warmth. In the spring and autumn, we may look for poems about rebirth and transitions of time. But summer is all about shining yellow joy, barbecue smoke pouring through an open window, your favorite places for a relaxing escape with the ones you love. Whatever feelings summer evokes for you, there’s no doubt there’s a poem out there to capture it. Here’s a look at 10 poems that feel like summertime, poems you’ll no doubt find something new in with each read:
“Goldenrod” by Maggie Smith
The title poem from Smith’s upcoming collection Goldenrod, this poem centers around the beauty of the late summer-blooming yellow flower. The opening line reads: “I’m no botanist. If you’re the color of sulfur / and growing at the roadside, you’re goldenrod.” This poem will instantly have you daydreaming about running through a whole goldenrod-covered field. Read the rest of the poem here.
“Montauk” by Sarah Kay
Kay beautifully captures the joy and nostalgia of a summer getaway from the city in this spoken word poem, which has been viewed over 400,000 times. In it, she says: “There’s some things you cannot learn in New York City. There are some places where fishnets do not mean stockings. Where the learning happens in between moments like after a wave passes and you break the surface gasping for air.” You’ll be reminded of your own fond summer memories with this poem. Watch the rest of this breathtaking performance below:
“in lieu of a poem, i’d like to say” by Danez Smith
Sweet summertime fruit is at the core of this poem, which Smith describes as a “loose abecedarian” on the Academy of American Poets’s site. “& i was wrong & a June’s worth of moons & the kiss stain of the berries & lord the prunes & the miracle of other people’s lives,” reads a section of the poem, which can be read in full on Poets.org.
“40 Ounce” by Marcus Jackson
This poem evokes classic summery images: a hot day’s tar bubbles, wandering through sunlight-filled streets, sharing drinks. The opening lines read: “Summer has salted / our neighborhood to thirst; / tar that patches the wounds of roofs / heats to sluggish bubbles; / sun obligates / paint on car hoods to blotch” Read the rest of the poem, as well as Jackson’s other summertime poem Ode to Kool-Aid, on Poets.org.
“Sea-Level Elegy” by Sharon Olds
Olds’s poem abounds with summer imagery and memory-filled reflections and laments. “...And now, the image of him has gone inside the raw closet, the naked bulb’s blazing golden pear beside his August-island shaggy head. That’s it. Once, each summer, I howl, and draw myself back, out of there…” This introspective and powerful piece demands to be read time and time again. View the full poem on the TriQuarterly website.
“July” by Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz
Aptowicz’s “July” is filled with desire, longing, and sweet summer treats. “The gelato we consumed greedily: / coconut milk, clove, fresh pear. / How we’d dump hot espresso on it / just to watch it melt, licking our spoons / clean.” The mix of food-infused imagery and summer remembering are enough to make you melt after reading this poem, which can be read in full on Poets.org.
“August” by Alex Dimitrov
The late-summer heat sizzles in this Dimitrov poem on memory and longing: “Almost possible: to believe these days / will change more than us but the past too. / Which is blue and without end. / A long drive toward a remembered place. / A secret left on a beach. Underwater / where the voices of summer are tones of speech, / requiring less of the mind.” With themes of loving and desire and nostalgia, the entire poem can be found in The Adroit Journal.
“Summer/New York City” by Phil Kaye
In Kaye’s “Sedral of evaporation the sweat rising up my own body leaving my own body unkissing my own skin is it any wonder our lips feel so lonesome these long evenings”. Filled with swagger, sweat, snow cones, sass, and sentimentality, this poem has something for absolutely everyone. Watch the full performance below:
“Sundown and All the Damage Done” by Ada Limón
Limón’s poem is filled with warm summer scents and scenes, in addition to recollections and the ever-existing awareness of time. One such scene involves watching fireflies “land on the tough tepals / until each broad flower glows like a torch-lit / mausoleum”. This contemplative and gorgeous poem will have your own memories floating back up to your surface. The poem was published by the American Poetry Review and is available to read online.
“Summer Haibun” by Aimee Nezhukumatathil
This stunning poem combines the beauty of a late-summer night sky with the magic of the animals below. From Nezhukumatathil’s poem: “There are not enough jam jars to can this summer sky at night. I want to spread those little meteors on a hunk of still-warm bread this winter.” The poem, filled with whispers of luminous constellations and deep longing, can be read in full on Poets.org.
Do you have a favorite summertime poem?
