Midsummer Eve

 

It sounds so appealing

a time of revelry,

crackling bonfires,

staying up all night

to witness the dawn.

Why do we celebrate

this longest day

of the year

as if endless hours

of daylight

and a scorching

sun star encompass

a gift of unparalleled grace?

 

I miss the shadows

that define sharp edges,

reveal form and depth,

of flat mesas, mountains,

deep blue sky,

clouds that hold promise

of muted gray and soaking rains.

 

Too much light

bleaches the earth

of her vibrancy, washing

out sage and emerald green.

Red dirt turns dull brown

as wildflowers wither.

Streams and rivers

surrender their souls

as precious moisture

rises.

Wily lizards scurry

for cover

under the fierce heat

of this unrelenting white star.

The birds stop singing by noon.

 

Too much light

ushers in self

and other destruction

encouraging frantic action –

noise that shatters.

Unhinging

“being” from doing,

destroying quiet moments

for thoughtful reflection.

The summer solstice sun can be

a delusional veil

that separates us

from ourselves.

 

I look forward

to the day after this turning

with profound relief,

because even though

summer’s harsh light will

linger well into August

and the heat will drone on

the sun is slowly losing

his fearsome power

creating space

for blue-green turquoise and golden skies.

In the shelter of the coming days

of longer shadows,

illuminated by reflective Light,

She will rise again with her Moon.

 

Working notes: I am always struck by the fierce energies that define this time of year – too long days – too much heat. Personally I have headaches and trouble sleeping and often feel irritable. It is well documented that violence escalates in the heat and noise certainly intensifies. I am struck too by our culture’s need – or obsession with light –  particularly the powers of the sun. Mythologically the the solar power of the sun is most often associated with the male powers of procreation, and power in general.

In other cultures the sun and moon are usually depicted as belonging together. Just as the sun is seen as a masculine power, the moon is perceived to be feminine in nature. – Each has a specific realm of influence, and together they are perceived as one whole.

At the risk of being accused of binary splitting I take the position that western culture is out of balance and we demonstrate that imbalance with our obsession with light that often manifests as our obsessive need for sun.

(This is the time of greening and without the powers of the sun and its heat the crops would not grow and Earth and her creatures and trees would not be able to survive – so I am not suggesting that the sun is lacking in importance)

And yet, the summer solstice sun is still an extreme event just like the lack of light is at winter solstice. I think that it is important to recognize that these extremes are part of Nature but their effects are temporary.

When the sun is highest in the sky, our star casts no shadow and this should be a warning to us all.