Judy Leaver, Professional Writer | Best Words, Best Order

Archive for July, 2011

Literary Mileage
Sandburg on Summer

Monday, July 25th, 2011

I continue my love affair with summer, though the heat dome we are sweltering under seems more like hell than summer…extremism has even infected the weather! I say that after hearing about the tragedy in Oslo…93 people, most of them just starting out in life, snuffed out. As our ‘leadership’ pushes us to a financial conflagration, I’m having trouble remaining optimistic about life and the future. I feel disgust instead. What have we become?
I turn to poetry for relief. Carl Sandburg’s homage to the summer moon helps remind me of what is important—

Back Yard
by Carl Sandburg

Shine on, O moon of summer.
Shine to the leaves of grass, catalpa and oak,
All silver under your rain to-night.

An Italian boy is sending songs to you to-night from an accordion.
A Polish boy is out with his best girl; they marry next month;
to-night they are throwing you kisses.

An old man next door is dreaming over a sheen that sits in a
cherry tree in his back yard.

The clocks say I must go—I stay here sitting on the back porch drinking
white thoughts you rain down.

Shine on, O moon,
Shake out more and more silver changes.