"If a June night could talk,
it would probably boast it invented romance."
- Bern Williams
This summer in the English countryside has seen no sign of Flaming June. It has been a landscape of muddy blues and greens and purple haze. As June comes to a rainy end we revisit the revelries which happened on one warm night.
The Queen of Fae was bored, with daydreams and rain,
her subjects heard her say ~
Time for a midsummer soiree!
Much effort was put towards what they wore,
splendidly attired so as not to offend
When they could do no more,
those whose wardrobe was yet amiss
A scary Faerie seamstress did amend.
Oh! That silken night robe you wore was so divine,
you said you had nothing to wear ~
I want it to be mine!
Nature's bounty came in spare ~
wound round shoulders
and twisted tight in hair.
Magic gleamed on every guest
the jewels were the very best ~
Who grabbed that passing winged thing,
and pinned her to their breast?
Gloriously garbed, all bowed
to the King and Queen,
it was her party
And she wanted to be seen.
Faeries underdressed were forced to flee!
Mrs Black, Puff and Munchkin were invited too
Did you bring your Beasts with you?
Who could help but stare?
She brought a Unicorn, and over here ~
those charming Shy Sisters brought their Deer!
Some were near, others did travel far
Or met hardship along the way
The valet looked after every car
During our stay.
Alice and her Rabbit were very late
The rest of the party really could not wait!
Such pretty places to sit and rest a spell
Full sympathy for all of those
Who now have stories to tell.
who forgot not to dose,
and kept company in their sleep,
you'd rather not keep.
There was such fine entertainment
a travelling musician or two
and a disc jockey spun records
some old, some new .....
of course the food and drinks were plenty
If you dared to eat or drink,
you are far braver than me
And if you grew weary of the music and the meet
you may have felt inclined to take a seat
or wander in the wood,
so dark and deep
Did you remember to beware?
perchance you fell asleep
while there.
The ballroom was so crowded
we spread out onto the lawn
By then I had to change those Red Shoes!
or dance until the dawn.
I saw you danced with the gentleman most strange
With thistledown hair, and green coat
I think it was he who arranged
That Dragon in the moat!
As we watched Dawn begin to weave
light across our play,
We wondered if we should take our leave,
but decided to go inside, and catch some sleep
before another summer's day.
Our hosts bid us all a gentle goodnight
Just as Alice arrived, so like her!,
said Puck, the mischievous Sprite,
"remember ~ having spent these hours in Faerie,
You may not be who that you were."
The previous post to this was a tribute to William Shakespeare, who I never tire of. As you may have guessed ~ this is a favourite book of mine from Rare Books.
CREDITS ****
Please ~ do not despair
Indeed we too care ~
All images will be credited to owners and creators in due course, once we have recovered from the Midsummer Night's Dream!
