a fan of summer

at the risk of sounding old
(or a bit curmudgeonly) times
were different back then —
on hot summer days windows
would be flung open wide
inviting any air to drift
through rusted screens
and carried on breezes
the sounds of children
playing outdoors, their screams
of anger or delight
mingling with bird calls
and the gentle rustle of green
leaves dancing with each
gust of wind. that was before
cable tv or central ac
when rotary fans wobbled
on table tops rhythmically
spraying blasts of warm air
from side to side into faces
eager for some relief
while dads smoked
and played pinochle as decks
got shuffled and cards
were dealt and moms
retreated into living rooms
to keep their own company
as they spun funny family
yarns taking turns talking
intermittently like so many
blades on that old
rotary fan.