Summer Solstice '19

Summer Solstice ‘19

the Summer Solstice slips in to a gray world

here by the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia,

it is like this ubiquitous fog that rubs out distance,

so that we can forget where else we might be for we cannot see it,

the Solstice is an astronomical reality of Earth and Sun

that we could not see, even if the day were sunny,

the gray mist, like a magician’s scarf,

ready to pull away and reveal the wonder

of nearby islands and bays,

or the equal wonder of a storm,

or continue as misdirection,

a gray veil that pulls us into ourselves,

here we are in Nova Scotia,

far to the north of our usual world,

on this day as the Sun, too, stops

as far north as it will go this year,

the misty rain stops for an hour or so mid-morning,

and we splash along a gravely road

to the Western Light, a traditional looking lighthouse

that heralds the entrance to the Bay of Fundy

no light is on but about every minute

a deep foghorn resonates through our bones,

purple iris, wild lily-of-the-valley, ferns, and spaghum

garden among the rounded granite outcroppings,

festooned with ancient lichen,

the fog actually enhances the view 

by melting sky into land and water,

and swirling about the lighthouse to reveal, to conceal,

all afternoon, drizzle continues into rain into drizzle,

we attempt an outing up the island,

but blustering wind drives the drizzle into us

and us back into the car

and to the comfort of a great meal at the lodge,

summer may be starting,

but the weather confounds our noticing.

by Henry H. Walker

June 21, ‘19