June is bride-season. Another school year has ended. Sunshine warms the air. Birds sing and flowers flourish. It’s the perfect time to embark on a new, exciting adventure – like forming a family.
Many years ago, one of my closest childhood friends got married in June. After our years of summer playtime, a wedding seemed an oddity. I marveled over the idea at some length. And then I wrote “Summershine.”
Perhaps, you have a dear friend getting married soon. Perhaps, you’ll see yourself and the bride in these lines. If so, I dedicate “Summershine” to you and that bride whose friendship you cherish.
Summershine
She’s getting married this summer, she says.
Married! Why summer’s no time for weddings and frills.
Summer is time for dashing barefoot through the park,
And lounging all afternoon beside the swimming pool,
Playing games, climbing trees, and hugging squirming puppies.
Oh, summer is for chasing lost breezes,
For climbing a ladder of sun rays to the clouds,
For catching raindrops on the tongue,
For laughter, for flowers, for wildness, for freedom.
Married, she says?
What a grown up sort of thing to do!
Why, only a month or so ago, it seems, we were two little girls,
Laughing together through whole, long summer days
And seeking out secret trees for our secret play.
But this summer has brought a new game
And a new playmate for my friend.
They’re setting out on a brand, new life
On their own special, summer day.
Lord, make that day the best you’ve got.
Send enough summershine to splash over into the rest of their lives
Because that woman who will be such a beautiful bride
Is really my dear, carefree, sun-burned pal in elaborate disguise.