REMEMBERING SUMMER
Being too warm the old lady said to me
is better than being too cold I think now
in between is the best because you never
give it a thought but it goes by too fast
I remember the winter how cold it got
I could never get warm wherever I was
but I don’t remember the summer heat like that
only the long days the breathing of the trees
the evenings with the hens still talking in the lane
and the light getting longer in the valley
the sound of a bell from down there somewhere
I can sit here now still listening to it.
-W.S. Merwin
Gladsome Lights 
What an idyllic view of summer. It’s not to be this year — at least, for us — but it’s a lovely poem, and the hollyhocks look fresh and delicate. I so enjoyed making hollyhock dolls when I was a child.
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I can well relate to the feelings and memories of the old lady in this poem. A distance in time from the discomforts of the past does soften some of the merely physical sufferings. I remember fondly living in a climate where we could be outdoors late in the summer, and we liked to be, because we had been cooped up inside much of the day trying to escape the blazing sun. But the mosquito bites we acquired!! I don’t often think of them.
Even in the evenings that the narrator is remembering, I imagine her sitting on a porch, rocking slowly in her chair, enjoying the rest, even if the heat was still present. Because if you can be still, the heat is easier to endure, and you can notice all the other blessings of summer. Like not being cold!!
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Are you saying good-bye to summer, Gretchen? Isn’t it always summer in California? 😉
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hahaha — not at all!! I hold on to summer as long as possible.
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A beautiful poem, well suited to this in-between time of the year. Having frozen last week, we are in for a dose of summer temperatures this week!
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We’re finally getting the normal upstate NY summer in late August. Bright days and cool nights. The flowers are finally happy with the right mix of sun and rain and the flies are less annoying to the animals. It’s funny that we always need to pick favorite seasons. I think I’m finally at peace with each one as it passes.
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This is how I feel. I want to hold onto summer for as long as I can because our Michgan winters can be grim!
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Hollyhocks are a long-time and very nostalgic favourite. They grew in the church yard next door to the house I grew up in. This is a lovely rendering. 🙂
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