Season of barbeques and ripening fruit br Discomfort under too mature a sun br Of burgers poorly cooked and sausages br Crammed in a grubby, stale and tasteless bun br br The wasps are nesting underneath the eaves br The ants march up and down a length of hose br Cat stretches out in any patch of shade br Disdainfully watching all from down his nose br br Is it the thunder or a rumbling gut br That causes us a feeling of unease br As we unstick our bodies from a chair br To weed the soft fruit cage on creaking knees br br We greeted long hot days with avarice br Now it’s the supermarket chill that’s blissbr br Gillian Thurlbybr br