summer world bright fresh
just far enough away seem
dreamy, reposeful
Saturday morning was come, and all the summer world was bright and fresh, and brimming with life. There was a song in every heart; and if the heart was young the music issued at the lips. There was cheer in every face and a spring in every step. The locust trees were in bloom and the fragrance of the blossoms filled the air. Cardiff Hill, beyond the village and above it, was green with vegetation, and it lay just far enough away to seem a Delectable Land, dreamy, reposeful, and inviting.
From Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain.
The prelude to Tom Sawyer whitewashing the back fence.
After painting this word picture and opening the door to an early summer day, which I have used for the first day of summer, the longest day of the year, Mr. Twain slams the door shut with the words, “Tom appeared on the sidewalk with a bucket of whitewash and a long-handled brush. He surveyed the fence, and all gladness left him and a deep melancholy settled down upon his spirit. Thirty yards of board fence nine feet high. Life to him seemed hollow, and existence but a burden.“
I have to take my hat off to Mr. Twain and stand in awe of the simple combination of simple words that takes us to a mountain top.
All the summer world was bright and fresh, and brimming with life.
There was a song in every heart; and if the heart was young the music issued at the lips.
There was cheer in every face and a spring in every step.
… just far enough away to seem a Delectable Land, dreamy, reposeful, and inviting.
Then with the same use of simple words, Mr. Twain shoves us off the mountain.
… all gladness left him and a deep melancholy settled down upon his spirit.
Thirty yards of board fence nine feet high.
Life to him seemed hollow, and existence but a burden.
I can see it.
I can feel it.
I can hear it in my soul.
No Haiku For You 