June 20th we usher in the summer solstice. We welcome a season of slowing down and taking in the warmth and beauty that summer brings. It is a time to rest and contemplate--to let our souls be revived by the season's offerings. I find myself longing to swing on a hammock or rest beneath a shade tree with a book of collected poems to be read in solitude or perhaps with three lazy heads in my arms. The beauty of the poet's words paints a picture of the simple, yet profound created world that points us to the Divine. Charlotte Mason states, "Poetry is, perhaps, the most searching and intimate of our teachers" (Ourselves, p. 71). This summer, why not select a favorite poet or even discover a new favorite or perhaps take in a collection of poems for the season? Open yourself up to what the Spirit would reveal to be true, beautiful and good through the most intimate of teachers.
Summmer Sun
by Robert Louis Stevenson
Great is the sun, and wide he goes
Through empty heaven with repose;
And in the blue and glowing days
More thick than rain he showers his rays.
Though closer still the blinds we pull
To keep the shady parlour cool,
Yet he will find a chink or two
To slip his golden fingers through.
The dusty attic spider-clad
He, through the keyhole, maketh glad;
And through the broken edge of tiles
Into the laddered hay-loft smiles.
Meantime his golden face around
He bares to all the garden ground,
And sheds a warm and glittering look
Among the ivy's inmost nook.
Above the hills, along the blue,
Round the bright air with footing true,
To please the child, to paint the rose,
The gardener of the World, he goes.
Enjoy other poems this summer by Robert Louis Stevenson in collected works such as:
