The Dog Days of August

As faithful as a star can be,

Sirius, the eye of the dog,

Follows Orion the Hunter,

Watching, from light years away,

Its master’s career through the night sky.

During these August days and nights,

Sirius rises with our sun,

Causing, as the ancients knew,

Making these days, these days of the Dog Star,

Days of summer heat.

Like all stars, the great star

Is there in my sky throughout my day, and

When it is not gracing this part of the tilting earth,

It is gracing the sky of the Bantu or the Malay.

I take comfort in knowing

That the great Dog Star is there,

Ever shining, ever moving, ever following the Hunter.

--August 14, 2013