Friday, June 25, 2021

Poetry Friday: What is so Rare as a Day in June?


What is So Rare as a Day in June?
 
AND what is so rare as a day in June?
Then, if ever, come perfect days;
Then Heaven tries earth if it be in tune,
And over it softly her warm ear lays;
Whether we look, or whether we listen,
We hear life murmur, or see it glisten;
Every clod feels a stir of might,
An instinct within it that reaches and towers,
And, groping blindly above it for light,
Climbs to a soul in grass and flowers;
The flush of life may well be seen
Thrilling back over hills and valleys;
The cowslip startles in meadows green,
The buttercup catches the sun in its chalice,
And there's never a leaf nor a blade too mean
To be some happy creature's palace;
The little bird sits at his door in the sun,
Atilt like a blossom among the leaves,
And lets his illumined being o'errun
With the deluge of summer it receives;
His mate feels the eggs beneath her wings,
And the heart in her dumb breast flutters and sings;
He sings to the wide world, and she to her nest,-
In the nice ear of Nature which song is the best? 

Now is the high-tide of the year,
And whatever of life hath ebbed away
Comes flooding back with a ripply cheer,
Into every bare inlet and creek and bay;
Now the heart is so full that a drop overfills it,
We are happy now because God wills it;
No matter how barren the past may have been,
'Tis enough for us now that the leaves are green;
We sit in the warm shade and feel right well
How the sap creeps up and the blossoms swell;
We may shut our eyes but we cannot help knowing
That skies are clear and grass is growing;
The breeze comes whispering in our ear,
That dandelions are blossoming near,
That maize has sprouted, that streams are flowing,
That the river is bluer than the sky,
That the robin is plastering his house hard by;
And if the breeze kept the good news back,
For our couriers we should not lack;
We could guess it all by yon heifer's lowing,-
And hark! How clear bold chanticleer,
Warmed with the new wine of the year,
Tells all in his lusty crowing!
Joy comes, grief goes, we know not how;
Everything is happy now,
Everything is upward striving;
'Tis as easy now for the heart to be true
As for grass to be green or skies to be blue,-
'Tis for the natural way of living:
Who knows whither the clouds have fled?
In the unscarred heaven they leave not wake,
And the eyes forget the tears they have shed,
The heart forgets its sorrow and ache;
The soul partakes the season's youth,
And the sulphurous rifts of passion and woe
Lie deep 'neath a silence pure and smooth,
Like burnt-out craters healed with snow.


James Russell Lowell 
 
 
I posted this before back in 2017. 
 
Linda has the roundup today. 
 

7 comments:

Linda B said...

We've had some days like this & some too hot to celebrate, but nevertheless, it's summer & a time to enjoy. Hope you are doing well, Ruth!

Irene Latham said...

Definitely one worth repeating, Ruth. Thank you! xo

Mary Lee said...

I love this

"Now is the high-tide of the year,
And whatever of life hath ebbed away
Comes flooding back with a ripply cheer,"

even though I know we've slipped into the ebbing that leads to fall and metaphors of death and loss. Let's enjoy June for a few more days!

Linda Mitchell said...

How full, how lush, how extravagant....just like summer. A beauty for sure!

Denise Krebs said...

What a poem that becomes an invitation to work on "the art of summering" as Carol wrote in her SJT email today. It is lovely. I'm missing dandelions, for there are none in this place, so I particularly loved these lines:

"The breeze comes whispering in our ear,
That dandelions are blossoming near,"

Thanks, Ruth!

Michelle Kogan said...

A big sigh for this delicious poem from a slower time. I enjoyed reading it before and again today. And I wonder do you have some of your sweet sun tea brewing… Happy Summer Ruth hope you soak up many days!

Carol Varsalona said...

Ruth, I missed writing a commit last week though I read through your post. "The buttercup catches the sun in its chalice." What a beautiful image. Love the poem.