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Poetry Sunday: June's Coming by John Burroughs

John Burroughs was an American poet, essayist, and Nature writer of the 19th century. He was a friend and champion of Walt Whitman and Ralph Waldo Emerson. His writing reveals a deep understanding and appreciation of Nature. "I go to Nature," he wrote, "to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order." It's a sentiment with which many of us would agree. 

June's Coming

by John Burroughs

Now have come the shining days
   When field and wood are robed anew,
And o'er the world a silver haze
   Mingles the emerald with the blue.

Summer now doth clothe the land
In garments free from spot or stain—
The lustrous leaves, the hills untanned,
The vivid meads, the glaucous grain.

The day looks new, a coin unworn,
Freshly stamped in heavenly mint;
The sky keeps on its look of morn;
Of age and death there is no hint.

How soft the landscape near and far!
A shining veil the trees infold;
The day remembers moon and star;
A silver lining hath its gold.

Again I see the clover bloom,
And wade in grasses lush and sweet;
Again has vanished all my gloom
With daisies smiling at my feet.

Again from out the garden hives
The exodus of frenzied bees;
The humming cyclone onward drives,
Or finds repose amid the trees.

At dawn the river seems a shade—
A liquid shadow deep as space;
But when the sun the mist has laid,
A diamond shower smites its face.

The season's tide now nears its height,
And gives to earth an aspect new;
Now every shoal is hid from sight,
With current fresh as morning dew.

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Comments

  1. jabblogJune 1, 2025 at 4:38 AM

    That encapsulates June perfectly.

    ReplyDelete
  2. David M. Gascoigne,June 1, 2025 at 6:28 AM

    If Burroughs could glimpse the world today he would die of shock!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Lark June 1, 2025 at 9:39 AM

    Lovely summer poem. :D

    ReplyDelete
  4. AlanaJune 1, 2025 at 5:29 PM

    Where pockets of nature continue to exist, Burroughs' poem remains timeless. Alas, we have destroyed so much since his death.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Deb Nance at ReaderbuzzJune 5, 2025 at 8:52 PM

    We tend to have pockets of summer during spring and fall, I think. I definitely see the clover and the bees here.

    ReplyDelete

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