As the Summer Solstice is near, I thought it would be appropriate to share some poems that I think accompany the season of summer beautifully. Summer is the time to refresh oneself and take the time to do things you may not get to do often. For example, I’m about to visit home in order to spend some quality time with my family. Whatever you may be up to this summer, I urge you to seek how others view the season in their eyes. And what better way to start than by taking on the recommendations of little old me?!

Bath – Amy Lowell

“The day is fresh-washed and fair, and there is a smell of tulips and narcissus in the air.
The sunshine pours in at the bath-room window and bores through the water in the bath-tub in lathes and planes of greenish-white. It cleaves the water into flaws like a jewel, and cracks it to bright light.
Little spots of sunshine lie on the surface of the water and dance, dance, and their reflections wobble deliciously over the ceiling; a stir of my finger sets them whirring, reeling. I move a foot and the planes of light in the water jar. I lie back and laugh, and let the green-white water, the sun-flawed beryl water, flow over me. The day is almost too bright to bear, the green water covers me from the too bright day. I will lie here awhile and play with the water and the sun spots. The sky is blue and high. A crow flaps by the window, and there is a whiff of tulips and narcissus in the air.”

There is something so subtly summery about Lowell’s description of the water in this poem that makes me envision the highlights of the sea. Summer is such an outdoorsy time of year. It strikes our awareness of the natural world around us, and this poem captures that impeccably. Its tranquil pace pulls us through scents, sights, and sensory delights I feel are exclusive to summertime. Despite this, I think that Bath is more than just a poem set in summer, but an example of summer.

Just Past Solstice – T.R Hummer

“the afternoons are perfect
Spans of sunlight from mountain to river, the wind
Holding still like the last breath of someone who’s lived
A happy life, if there ever were such a person—
Soul hanging on for a few seconds more of Being,
Then finally letting go silently, the way a falcon
On a fencepost lifts and vanishes while I glance away,
Its wings perfected by millions of perfect afternoons
To carry it up in one more inaudible arc.
Have mercy, blackjack of light, lifted by no one
To crack my forehead, the center, suddenly, of a circle
Whose bloody circumference is everywhere.”

Hummer’s fixation on the beauty of the natural world, brought to us by the summer season, is nothing less than a complex and enchanting characterisation of the transition between life and death. This poem dulls the harsh blade of tension you would expect this topic to have. Instead, we are comforted with the company of summer, such as the “spans of sunlight” and the gentle wind. The way Hummer uses summer as a pacifier in this poem is beautiful.

Summer Apples – Cathryn Essinger

“I planted an apple tree in memory

of my mother, who is not gone,

but whose memory has become

so transparent that she remembers

slicing apples with her grandmother

(yellow apples; blue bowl) better than

the fruit that I hand her today. Still,

she polishes the surface with her thumb,

holds it to the light and says with no

hesitation, ‘Oh, Yellow Transparent . . .

they’re so fragile, you can almost see

to the core.’ She no longer remembers how

to roll the crust, sweeten the sauce, but

her desire is clear—it is pie that she wants.

And so, I slice as close as I dare to the core—

to that little cathedral to memory—where

the seeds remember everything they need

to know to become yellow and transparent.“

Summer Apples is a poem that uses the season of summer to express the passage of time. The deep sense of family connection is something summer tends to bring on (family BBQ’s, children coming home from university, finding time to see those you don’t get to see often) and I think Essinger has shown this idea beautifully in this poem wherein family tradition is protected and nurtured between mother and daughter.

Final Thoughts

So, whether you’re gathering with friends or family or enjoying the Summer Solstice solo, take the time to appreciate this season for the adornment that it is. And as always, I’d love to hear from you. Do you have a favourite piece of writing about summer? Let me know!

Happy Reading!

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