Midsummer woodlands

When –

Fields shimmer with heat

And air is heavy, unmoving,

As sun radiates from the sky

Then –

Praise to the woodlands

          peat-dark

               in their shadowed spaces.

Praise to the bracken

          deep green

               uncurling as it rises.

Praise to the leaf canopy

          chartreuse

               back-lit by the sun.

Praise to the foxgloves

          in livery of royal purple

               for midsummer.