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You are here: Home / Poems / “The Solstice”, by W.S. Merwin

“The Solstice”, by W.S. Merwin

December 21, 2017 By Merwin Conservancy

Ohia Lehua in the Waikamoi Preserve by Sara Tekula
Native Hawaiian ʻōhiʻa lehua tree in native habitat, Maui

THE SOLSTICE

They say the sun will come back
at midnight
after all
my one love

but we know how the minutes
fly out into
the dark trees
and vanish

like the great ʻōhiʻas and honey creepers
and we know how the weeks
walk into the
shadows at midday

at the thought of the months I reach for your hand
it is not something
one is supposed
to say

we watch the bright birds in the morning
we hope for the quiet
daytime together
the year turns into air

but we are together in the whole night
with the sun still going away
and the year
coming back

— W.S. Merwin, from his book The Rain in the Trees, (Alfred Knopf, 1988). © 2017 by W. S. Merwin. Used by permission of the publisher.


To browse through our archive of previously posted Poems of the Week, click here.

To support the preservation of W.S. Merwin’s legacy and our efforts to bring his ideas, works, and values into the community, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to The Merwin Conservancy.

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