The Solstice

They say summer starts today.

Today is the longest day.

I sit on my porch and soak in the sun,

Up until the very last moment of it,

Till the last bit of sunshine.

The last sunrays of the day gently kiss my skin.

It’s always a glorious day,

The longest day.

There is only one sour note about the longest day of the year –

All the other days are inevitably shorter.

But the sweet note is that there are still many sunny days ahead,

And I will embrace them all.

The days after the solstice may go shorter,

But the summer goes ripe once its longest day is over.

~~~~~~~~~

From my book of poetry Despair and Hope (2024), page 95.