The Color Of Summer

“Summer afternoon,

summer afternoon;

to me those have always been

the two most beautiful words

in the English language.” 

(Henry James)

It was, as it still is, sometime in the last week of June - the final day of school for the year. Report cards gifted in envelopes of white, tests  completed, artwork handed back, desks cleared of a year's accumulated detritus. Eight weeks lay ahead, bursting with untapped potential, a blank canvas awaiting the kiss of an artist's brush. 

Summer was, for me, a gravity that drew me forward through the year, pulling me into its orbit as July's calendar page was flipped on the kitchen wall. I simply loved summer. Leo (my next-door-neighbor and soul mate) and I would head out across the field of sprouting wheat or barley that boarded our neighborhood; tree lines to explore, forts to build, great hunting expeditions to undertake with pellet guns in hand. The long summer days would fill the horizon of our being.

“It was June,

and the world smelled of roses.

The sunshine was like powdered gold

over the grassy hillside.” (Maud Hart Lovelace, Betsy-Tacy and Tib)

I miss those carefree days. I recall with clarity the release of anxiety, the deep breaths of peace that the first morning of summer holidays bestowed upon my young soul. I was an anxious child, but even so, I knew how to settle into summer with an ease that is long forgotten.

Summer 2017. The garden is brilliant, and needing a little tending. The grass is growing - steroidily. Time flies by, filled with evening gatherings, weekends bursting with invitations, camping, travelling, yard work, house repairs, festivals... all packed into a few short weeks of sunshine, thunderstorms, and bugs. I still indulge in the verdant colors of summer, cries of gulls and crows, and the ubiquitous drone of a lawnmower in the distance. But the simple ease of those childhood vacation weeks is a fading memory.

As a child my only expectation of those long, warm days was to play with unbridled abandon; sleeping in, staying up later than on school nights, and marinading in the goodness of friendships and family. It was not about busyness, I did not try to stuff as much as I could into a few weeks of life. I simply enjoyed the moments.

“Summer will end soon enough,

and childhood as well.” (George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones)

What then am I saying? Do I long to go back to my nine-year-old carefree days, to return to some perceived halcyon era? I do not think so. Today is where I am planted, where I engage life. My reminiscences are, however, a spark to dry tinder. The fire that ignites is the energy of challenge and change. Perhaps I ask too much of these summer days. When standing before the buffet table, one must choose some items, and pass by the rest if a sore gut is to be avoided. 

We are the sculptors of our own lives, choosing or dismissing those opportunities that present themselves to us. Summer is upon us, resplendent in color, sound and aroma; laden with invitation and possibility. I will, in this day, listen to the wisdom that echoes down through the years from the little boy I once was. Today is a summer day - it needs no more in it than a playful spirit and a friend with whom to share it. 

I leave the last word to 19th century banker and scientist, John Lubbock:

“Rest is not idleness,

and to lie sometimes

on the grass under trees on a summer's day,

listening to the murmur of the water,

or watching the clouds float across the sky,

is by no means a waste of time.” (John Lubbock, The Use Of Life)

The color of summer...

bees among the roses.

With delight

I sip

the nectar

that is

summer's

gift

sip,

not gulp

sip,

in slow

indulgent

swallows

Pause

Breathe

Listen

To Ponder Further:

- From the Bible: "As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years, Or if due to strength, eighty years, Yet their pride is but labor and sorrow; For soon it is gone and we fly away." (Psalm 90.10)

- From African traditional religions: "The dog says, 'If you fall down, and I fall down, the play will be enjoyable.'" (Nupe Proverb, Nigeria)

From Buddhism: "There are having flowers in Spring, breezes in Summer, moon in Autumn, snows in Winter. If there is nothing worrying over you, it will be the best seasons at all times." (Gautama Buddha, source unknown.)