The Villager Voice
You have likely heard the phrase, “What is so rare as a day in June?” It is the title of a poem by New England poet James Russell Lowell, part of a group of American Romantic poets who called themselves “Fireside Poets,” alluding to the accessibility of their poetry. Lowell, a Harvard graduate, was also an ardent abolitionist, as well as ambassador to Spain and later to the Court of St James.
You have also likely heard of the writer of a poem titled “June Night,” as he has been a fixture in our wider community since 1980. The Rev. Tim Haut penned the following, and you can easily imagine the vision he creates planted somewhere in Devitt Field or a similar spot in Deep River. I thought this an apt offering for this day, the summer solstice.
June Night
The carnival has come to town,
and we are pulled in by its magic:
music, and the cries of midway barkers,
laughter under the glittering lights,
and wild, unfettered screams of joy
rising in a moment of sheer abandon,
and once again the world is young.
But she and I turn toward home
as rose streaks the sky
and the first stars welcome the night.
We look for fireflies on the meadow,
listen for the tender song of crickets,
the soft ringing of wind chimes,
and perhaps the flutter of wings
as a bird seeks a roost in the trees.
We pause here, at the last edge of day
at the fulcrum of the year
and are content with our simple thrills
as the earth spins us round again
together.
Links to Sunday’s bulletin and service are here: