A SONG OF SUMMER 63 



some neighbouring hill and set on fire 

 and then rolled down to bear away 

 harm and mark the sun's descent; but 

 middle July, the New England mid- 

 summer, the half-way stile between the 

 first cautious growth of June and Sep- 

 tember's ripening. 



A haze drops between the sky and 

 the earth, laden with oppressive heat; 

 the deeply shadowed porch is airless, 

 and under it the two dogs lie panting 

 and exhausted. Ben-Uncas, a St. Ber- 

 nard, who loves cold and snow, dreams 

 of the river, and Colin, a veteran 

 setter, thinks of the fern copse where 

 the rabbits hide. 



We two stand together out in the 

 full sunshine, with the summer sur- 

 rounding us, pulsing in the hot earth 

 under our feet, and with summer in 

 the heart. Spring is a restless season, 

 the time of mating, planting, hoping. 



