Ode To The Summer Solstice: A Poem

Solstice, dearest, come and gone,
I’ll wear you like a crown
I’ll carve your name into the moon
And let her blood drip down

Solstice, dear, thy hours long
Oh, daylight fades to grey
You dance with me ’till longing’s gone
And disappear come day.

Like a lover, known but once
You greet me in the night
But morning comes and tides are won
You’re gone without a sight.

Oh, Solstice, love, thy magic holds
As quickly as it fades.
And though I know you’re gone too soon
I’ll dance with you ’till day.

—

The summer solstice is my favorite day of the year, every year, and like Christmas, I feel as though I spend all year waiting for it and then time crushes up like an aluminum can as the day finally bears down on me. The day itself seems to last about a half-second, more powerful both in anticipation and in retrospect than in the moment itself. The harder I try to slow down and just enjoy it, the more quickly it seems to slough away. I wrote this poem a day or two after the solstice, wishing, as with so many other things in life, I could get it back. 

In case you’d like to hear it read aloud, here’s a recording I did last night.