
The poem describes a nostalgic scene of summer's end, where the speaker recalls the presence of June, symbolized by ragweed and fennel, which are now fading away with the season. The poem conveys a sense of melancholy and longing for the passing of time.
By James Whitcomb Riley · First published 1883 · Genre: Poetry, Pastoral, Lyric · 164 words
When June is here -- what art have we to sing / The whiteness of the lilies midst the green / Of noon-tranced lawns? Or flash of roses seen / Like redbirds' wings? Or earliest ripening / Prince-Harvest apples, where the cloyed bees cling / Round winey juices oozing down between / The peckings of the robin, while we lean / In under-grasses, lost in marveling. / Or the cool term of morning, and the stir / Of odorous breaths from wood and meadow walks, / The bobwhite's liquid yodel, and the whir / Of sudden flight; and, where the milkmaid talks / Across the bars, on tilted barley-stalks / The dewdrops' glint in webs of gossamer.
Poetry · Nature · Seasonal · Summer · Rural · Idyllic · Whimsical · Nostalgic · Sentimental · Romantic · Love · Relationships
When June is here. (Ragweed and Fennel) is listed on Textopian as a poem by James Whitcomb Riley, dated 1883 CE.
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