A locust is hidden somewhere in a nearby tree, but the sound it makes doesn’t stay hidden. The speaker hears its buzzing as something almost physical: a “hot voice” that sizzles, as if the noise itself were cooking the air. Even though the insect sits in a cool tree, its call feels like a thin, sharp flame burning through the summer stillness. Sound becomes light and heat, so the locust seems to be slicing through sunbeams with the edge of its voice. There’s a sense of wonder here, maybe even a little dazzlement—the speaker is stopped by how something so small can make the air feel so fiercely alive. The mood is intense, bright, and almost ecstatic, like the hottest part of a summer day concentrated into one persistent, piercing sound.
The Locust — Summary
Its hot voice sizzles from some cool tree Near-by : It seems to burn its way through the air Like a small, pointed flame of sound Sharpened on the ecstatic edge of sunbeams.