Well, here we are on the first Open Link Night of Summer. I’ve stocked some cold beer, some shandy, chilled white wines and iced tea (of the sweet and potent varieties), so we can toast to the Solstice and imbibe great poetry within the shrinking shadows of another Super Moon.

I’m Joe Hesch and I’m hosting here at the pub this last Tuesday of June 2013.

I guess you could say it’s the half-way point of another year, the debut of summer. Or the onset of Winter for our friends who call the Southern Hemisphere their half of the World. I’ve never been there, so I can address only my months ahead, full of more direct sunshine, lazy and hazy days and nights, and inspirations of a wholly different kind than Winter’s snow and long nights, Spring’s new verdant life (literal and literary) and the crisp air and russet crackle of Autumn.

I seem to find more things to write about in those other three seasons. While we’re locked away, or on work release, during the other three quarters of the year, poetry seems to flow more freely for me, remaining closer to the front pews of my conscious and subconscious mind. Oh, I can write about mowing lawns, baseball, days on the shore or beach, barbecue and such. But I don’t feel as many poems come during the three Summer months around here in upstate New York as during the other nine.

Maybe that’s just my one-time heat-stroked impression. What about you? Does Summer affect your poetic productivity?

The one thing that ensures I write and post at least one new poem each week of the Summer is this gathering we’re having tonight: dVerse Open Link Night. I never go on vacation here.

Here’s how we keep the creative ball rolling around the world each week, all 52 of them, of the year:

• Link in your OLN poem – one per blog, please – by clicking on the Mr. Linky button just below and cutting and pasting in your link.
• Don’t forget to let your poem’s readers know where you’re linking up and encourage them to participate by including a link to dVerse in your blog post.
• Visit as many other poems as you like, commenting as you see fit. This is where you get to express yourself about this poet’s work.
• Spread the word. Feel free to tweet and share on the social media of your choice.