Tuesday, July 9, 2013

SUMMER’S OFFERING



Summer arrives
with a soft rhapsody of
meandering days.
Lightening bugs usher in the night sky
with green-hued fireworks.

Tiger lilies sway.  Shasta daisies rise.
Queen Anne's lace adorns a regal path.
Emerald trees with arms extended,
and corn knee-high,
Reach to honor a timeless season.


A warm shower sprinkles downward
trading beads of sun sweat with rain drops.
soaking soil and skin.
Reviving a parched earth.
Children dance to the pitter-pat of the drizzle.

Early morning bird chatter
sings praises of another day.
Dusk purpled evenings
invite watermelon seed spitting,
hot dogs and the hymn of crickets.

This amazing season
with stretched, sultry days--
fresh with sit down for a spell,
slow down and notice the silence 
of sunlight and shadow.

Time is summer's offering.
So savor this season--
Restore with laughter and with play.
Renew with a slow motioned stillness.
Receive summer's silent spaciousness.


       And the update…
Last Tuesday I had my first Fun Day and began what I am referring to as a year of Project Play.  My first Fun Day was just that—pure fun.  I slept in.  Played with words.  Created an appetizer.  Watched a movie with a friend.  Spent the evening with other friends, enjoying a summer rain under the protection of a screened-in porch, accompanied by good food and lots of belly laughter as we relived stories of our trip to Italy.  I fell asleep renewed. 
 
And I awoke the next morning with a deeper understanding of the purpose of play and a dedication to honor and create a place for play in my life.  My next summer Fun Day is July 19.  I began to teach two classes on Monday through Thursday for the next five weeks and I am coordinating a workshop this coming weekend so there is no stretch of a day to create a full Fun Day until July 19.  To build my Project Play I want to create one time daily when I am choosing something for the fun of it between now and then—even if it is for only a short time period.  I will let you know how this is working (ooops…I mean playing out) for me.

4 comments:

  1. Love that last part, Deborah, "oops". And your poem includes all my summer memories like fireflies and screened in porches. We don't have fireflies in Colorado, our loss! I love your poem, just the ease of it, like summer is! This, "fresh with sit down for a spell," is wonderful. Your 'fun' times sound like you will need them in between all the work.

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  2. You have put all the facets of summer into a poem where one can relive the joy of summer in any season. Summer is a special time.
    Glad to read you are keeping up with fun!

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  3. I was thinking of sprinkles and connected with torrents-we had a horrible rain storm here today 2 inches in one hour! Would much rather have sprinkles

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  4. Time is summer's offering as is your beautiful poem. My Tuesday post was about the habit of play. Play is essential to living in love rather than fear. Being intential about play helps us feed our souls to be ready for the work of life.

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