Solstice by Jane Hirshfield

The Earth today tilts one way, then another.

And yes, though all things change,
this night again will watch its fireflies,
then go in to a bed with sheets,
to lights, a beloved.

To running water cold and hot.

Take nothing for granted,
you who were also opulent, a stung cosmos.

Birds sang, frogs sang, their sufficient unto.
The late-night rain-bringing thunder.

And if days grew ordinarily shorter,
the dark’s mirror lengthened,

and one’s gain was not the other lessened.

Solstice

As you will know, we have just passed the summer solstice, longest day of the year, always an opportunity to pause and reflect on the cycles of our lives. The earth tilts and this night again will watch its fireflies, this constancy even with all the changes that will continue. We will go to our bed, turn on the lights that burn away the darkness, go to our beloveds if they are there.

You will likely have hot and cold running water which, like me, you may often take for granted, but do not fail to appreciate what you have Hirshfield tells us. You must not presume, you who were also opulent; the wealth of everyday beauty, and all that surrounds us is never just a given.

The birds and frogs sing their unique and comforting songs, and we hear the late-night rain-bringing thunder, of which we have heard much lately in my part of the world. She perfectly captures the shortening of our days now, the dark’s mirror lengthened, with the wisdom we may forget: one’s gain was not the other lessened, each season faithfully following one after another, time after time.