Gloomy July

or It Should Be Nice Out By Now, Damn-it!

We took a break
to think about
whether or not
we could make it to the top
and whether or not
it’d be worth it.

The forecast had been sun,
but we were in the clouds
and it was cold and wet
and the snow was crunchy
with holes going down
into deep tree wells
and the trail was
difficult to follow.

We stopped to think.
I broke a twig in my hand
flicking bits into the snow.
It was July and all this
was supposed to be gone,
it ought to have been 75
or 80 degrees;
but is was fifty something
and beginning to drizzle.

Things hadn’t gone as planned,
but our bodies were intact
they felt glad with exhaustion
and the scenery had a
eery pretty to it.

Had it been May,
or even June,
I would have been smiling
taking goofy pictures
commenting on the trees
and planning sequels;

but it was late July
and I couldn’t shake
the thought
of what summer
should feel like
and the frustrating fact
we were going to have
to turn back
again.