The solstices suit me. I’m not balanced enough for the equinoxes – I’m drawn to long days, evenings stretching out like shadows, the scent of roses, pipistrelles flittering overhead, the rooks chattering comfortably. I love the winter solstice, too, – the early darkness, the nights of frosts and stars, the nights when the moon hurtles through cloudscapes, the call of owls.
I like coming at sunrise from the wrong direction.
I like staking a claim on night.
On this solstice day, the everything is bursting with life. June has brought roses and honeysuckle, the trees are leaf-heavy, the fields are re-growing after their first mowing, the hedgerows are frothing with elderflowers and Queen Anne’s lace, with dog roses and wild campion. It’s our moment to dance at the top of the year.
shadows stretch I am a goddess flower-crowned.
A solstice haibun for Frank at dVerse.
Sarah writes poems 
Oh, you describe it so well… the scent of those elderflowers is intoxicating at the moment… and I do love the long evenings with daylight that never seems to end.
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I love your haibun and really love your haiku! I am a big fan of the summer solstice, but for me its winter counterpart is its evil twin! I am basking in this moment before the slow and sultry descent towards autumn.
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Oh, I know. I make a big effort to love the winter. Have you read “Wintering” by Katherine May? It’s a lovely book, and gave me permission to hunker down in winter.
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No, but thank you for the recommendation: I may well read it this winter!
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The solstices suit me as well, Sarah. I agreed with your haibun and haiku! Well said.
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Thank you!
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i could really do with the scent of elderflower this year. iam misssing its scent thanks for brnging it here.
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It’s such a summer scent. Our neighbour just brought down a bottle of elderflower cordial. Good on it’s own, but I also like a splash of it in a G&T.
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elderflower cordial is great with over ice and mint. not made my own this year. the elderflower in my neibourhood not up to much
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Next year! 🤞
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That’s how it ought to be though I’m glad we haven’t had our first mowing yet. Too many things still living in the long grass.
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The farmers squeezed their first cut in, but the council seems to be leaving the verges to grow. Ecologically (and economically) sound! it’s great when those things come together.
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There are loads of meadows here and hardly any cattle now so there’s always more hay than anyone wants with a single cut. They’re supposed to be leaving the verges too, but verge-cutting is outdoor relief for farmers so they cut away willy-nilly.
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I’m on the verge of understanding what your verges are. Your closing sentence is killer. We have many an overcast night where the moon scampers like that, and flocks of owls.
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Ah. Divided by a common language…
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This is gorgeous, Sarah. And you even got your rooks in. 😀 Such a luscious life-filled picture you paint here.
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An evocative Solstice celebration, if ever I read one! Love the contrast of Summer and Winter Solstice, and those floral descriptors, like Queen Anne’s Lace!
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The dance at the top of the year, it’s such a wonderful, unique view of the solstice, Helen. Enjoyed.
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Not balanced enough for the equinoxes… I’m still pondering that one. Love the haiku.
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Beautifully written!
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“I like coming at sunrise from the wrong direction.
I like staking a claim on night.”
You say you’re not balanced enough for equinoxes but this whole haibun seems very well balanced.
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Reblogged this on Frank J. Tassone and commented:
#Haiku Happenings #9: Sarah’s latest #haibun for #dVersePoets #HaibunMonday!
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So lovely! A time to dance indeed.A wonderful haibun with an exquisite haiku. It is always lovely to read you, Sarah.
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I really love how you inserted yourself into the haiku, Sarah!
❤
David
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Summer makes goddesses of us all. Lovely. (K)
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“At the top of the year.” A perfect description! Well done.
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Wonderful, every step of the way, Sarah. I love this distillation:
“It’s our moment to dance at the top of the year.”
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All of this good, but I especially like your haiku.
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lovely , all of it ~
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