Summer is here!
Okay, it’s only June 1st, but as all the readers of Footle and Grok know, I say that summer is June, July, and August. So, summer is here, and today’s poem describes summer perfectly.
John Clare is known as the greatest English Labouring-class poet. He lived in the 19th century and wrote about nature, rural areas, and the loss of both. His poem uses all the senses to describe this lovely time of year.
June
By John Clare
‘Now summer is in flower and natures hum
Is never silent round her sultry bloom
Insects as small as dust are never done
Wi’ glittering dance and reeling in the sun
And green wood fly and blossom haunting bee
Are never weary of their melody
Round field hedge now flowers in full glory twine
Large bindweed bells wild hop and streakd woodbine
That lift athirst their slender throated flowers
Agape for dew falls and for honey showers
These round each bush in sweet disorder run
And spread their wild hues to the sultry sun.’