Summer is

the song she writes for me

Profil sous une arche (1905, pastel on paper) by Odilon Redon — image from Graciela Bombalova-Bogra

                                                   An ode to summer nights and days 
                                                             and the hours in between, 
                                                    to the blooming of kitchens, dreams, 
                                                              nature, the imagination,      
                                                                 and to writing odes,
                                                                  for no reason at all,
                                                                     other than that 
                                                                           we love

                                                                            𑁍

                                                                      This piece 
                                                                     has an intended 
                                                                form that is only visible 
                                                             from your desktop browser
                                                          on the Substack website (not e-
                                                      mail or the app). I invite you to take
                                                 a  moment  to  read  it  from  there,  for  the
                                             intended   effect   of   seeing   the   poem   on   a
                                          printed         page         and         experiencing         the     
                                     dance         between          space          and          words           :)

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                                                                   Summer is


𓍯𓂃

Summer is

for midnight sparklers 
secret smiles
a waltz across your golden Nile


                                                                                         the sky is bird song at first light and 
                                                                                                            I hold magic in my hands



Summer is

for starlight dips
in flowing fountains
of wild berries

morning flowers 
in your hair
swing and sip
dancing dew

you're most charming 
at midnight
when an invitation comes
for a garden party
with the water fairies


                                                                                                          from the strawberry moon         
                                                                                                                                            blooms 
                                                                                                                                   elderflowers

                                                                                                                I dream of cats bathing 
                                                                                                                                   in waterfalls 
                                                                                                                                    of sunshine



Summer is

for honeyed rooibos 
with Sicilian 
blood oranges and 
the shimmering nectar 
of port wine

a soft perfumerie
cloud laundry 
floating fragrant
on the line

and sliding down 
vermilion 
ripe tomatoes
on the vine


                                                                                                                  I nap in a yuzu temple 
                                                                                                                                    of green tea
                                                                                                                      deep within a forest
                                                                                                                                    of rosemary




                                                          Summer is

                                                    for you, and for me

                                                blushing peaches flower 
                                                       
                                            in                        oolong
                                                      our                              tea


                                                          Summer is

                                              for flying so far and free

                                      as we lie under the jacaranda tree

                                                                                                                                             𓍯𓂃                                                                                                                                                

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~ A Sensorial Mosaic of Summer ~

This summer song is a mosaic of some of my favourite stories and sensorial landscapes that remind me of summer, inspired by treasures sitting in my kitchen and on my bookshelf, many collected from my wanderings around the cities, fields, and gardens of Europe, Asia and the US.

Here’s a little trove of some of the inspirations behind the poem to fill your kitchens, gardens, senses, and hearts with for the summer —

⟡ ⟡ midnight sparklers, secret smiles

Jazz Age, the Roaring Twenties, all is black and gold

⋆｡°✩ a waltz across your golden Nile

a love song for summer afternoons baking in the kitchen, with lyrics to melt a Sagittarius heart

(this is Jason Wade’s 2001 cover of Jo Stafford’s original 1952 release)

𓇢𓆸 morning flowers in your hair, swing and sip, dancing dew

an absolutely luscious piece about making floral infusions by

Oorja M

, who writes

circle dance around a bonfire

(which I’m in love with) — how could a title of "I’ve been making floral infusions like I’m Persephone” about “sipping tiny meadows in glasses” not be Required Summer Reading?

. ݁₊᪥⋆ a garden party with the water fairies

Australian-Japanese food writer, Emiko Davies, who runs a cooking school in Tuscany, writes about the ancient midsummer ritual of making acqua di San Giovanni, when women all over Italy collect local wild flowers and herbs to place in a bowl of water overnight and outside, on the shortest and most magical night of the year, when fairies and spirits are out and about — this continues as a tradition in Italy every year on 23 June

𖡼𖤣𖥧𖡼 from the strawberry moon blooms elderflowers

on why June’s full moon is known as the strawberry moon, and my favourite elderflower cordial (coincidentally, best served mixed together with freshly cut strawberries, San Pellegrino, and New Zealand Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, all as chilled as can be)

☾₊ ⊹ honeyed rooibos with Sicilian blood oranges

my favourite summer rooibos blend, delicious either hot or cold brewed, always with a delicate floral honey

୧⋆ ˚｡⋆. the shimmering nectar of port wine

bought this for the gorgeous botanical bottle art, stayed all the way till the end for the wine ;-) honestly, you can’t go wrong with Douro Valley grapes in a fruity and floral white port blend

✧₊˚✧₊˚ a yuzu temple of green tea

for the pilgrims of yuzu and green tea, truly

𑁍 𑁍 blushing peaches flower in our oolong tea

I think you might cry drinking this, too — inspired by stories from

Emmie Rae

’s beautiful life in Tokyo

❀༉˚ as we lie under the jacaranda tree

all I want to do is swim in a lilac sea, don’t you?

〰️ 〰️ 〰️

What’s in your summer mosaic collection? Please share below :)

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