AN ENTERTAINING SUMMER – DAY #3: A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM

/ Poetic Bloomings
A Midsummer Night's Dream schoolworkhelper.net

A Midsummer Night’s Dream
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Anyone up for a book? Even if it’s Shakespeare? Of the many classic works of the Bard, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” encapsulates everything Shakespeare had to offer. Wit, romance, story and whimsy; a delightful read.

You can see that the title offers us a few options on how to approach this day’s prompt. You can write about midsummer. Your poem can be about a dream. Or find something in these quotes from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” to spark your muse:

But earthlier happy is the rose distilled
Than that which withering on the virgin thorn
Grows, lives, and dies in single blessedness.

—Theseus’ reminder to Hermia that here on earth married women are happier than unmarried ones.

The course of true love never did run smooth.

—Lysander tells Hermia that they are not the only true lovers who have had troubles.

a sweet-face man; a proper man, as one shall see in a summer’s day.

—Peter Quince’s description of Pyramus. (He is trying to persuade Bottom that only he can play the part of Pyramus.)

 

Lord, what fools these mortals be!

—Puck’s gleeful comment on the fallings in and out of love of Helena, Hermia, Lysander, and Demetrius.

Make much ado about “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and render thee to some poetry! If you’re feeling “Puckish” , that is!

91 thoughts on “AN ENTERTAINING SUMMER – DAY #3: A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM”

  1.  
     
    FOOLS

    mortals embrace their foolish ways
    midsummer nights in love-sick haze

    exchanging hearts and passion’s kiss
    offering all for a moment’s bliss.

    the course of love never did run smooth
    the journey is hard and that’s our truth

    be time of sorrow, or lifetime of glee
    Lord, what fools these mortals be!

    © Walter J. Wojtanik – 2016

  2.  
     
    MIDSUMMER MIDNIGHT

    As ever;
    passing stars enthrall:
    the same lights,
    the same nights
    as in winter, spring, and fall.
    But how high the sky!

  3.  
     
    SHARON, MY LOVE IN SUMMER AND ALL TIME

    I dreamed of that river again,
    the currents churning in the sea,
    jewels of red and blue,
    the sun flashing its gold
    as the waves rose and tumbled

    That bright river again splashing
    against my splintering canoe,
    the colors vividly
    aglow, a feast for eyes
    far from gray ghastly woodland

    replete with ogres and demons
    dead-set on my destruction.
    I crawled through the briars,
    heading towards the river
    where I would be safe again.

    Then I saw you in the river
    tossing a rope to save my life.
    Colors surrounded you,
    an aura of goodness
    revealed your love rescued me.

    #

  4.  
     
    Mid-summer Madrigal

    Thy kinship captures hearts; since Time began
    Thou lavishest thy art on earthy span
    And ravishest the dreamer with desire
    A rose can set the soul of Her afire
    Thy rooming-house of flowers none can tame
    Or build a wall about thy sky-wide frame
    Nay, free to one and all thy citadel
    Of star-strewn hill and rill, and wild-bloom fell
    Of shoreline tinged with lime and gentian-blue
    Of garden fringed with pearl of midnight dew
    Of wayward wind-in-willow-harp nocturne
    That rouses sparks where echo-embers burn
    Of cup that runneth over with a tide
    That primes the blush of clover and young bride
    Of fledgling falt’ring on the highest limb
    Where wanderlust will get the best of him
    …where poet-dreamer-lover intertwine
    ‘Til none can tell the flower from the vine

  5.  
     
    Midsummer Night

    The moon shone through dark, twisted, tangled limbs
    Their shadows writhed along the ground like snakes
    The bats and owls flew by on ghostly wings
    With haunting sounds, thus giving me the shakes

    My footsteps crackled crunchy twigs and leaves
    I pushed through brambles all along the way
    With pounding heart compelling me to breathe
    I longed for dawn and sunlight of the day

    To my alarm there rose ahead of me
    An eerie figure looming dark and still
    At first I thought it was a gnarly tree
    Then I saw it coming at me for the kill

    And just when I would give a healthy scream
    I realized it was just a ghastly dream

  6.  
     
    A Summer Dream

    On average the temp was near 100
    Hot day after day and well into the nights
    ‘Twas summer in the Sunshine State
    Just another hot, humid, sticky summer
    Something I never seem to get used to

    One night I escaped the tormenting heat
    Transported magically to a cooler place
    Where sweltering sweat was nonexistent
    And sticky humidity was an afterthought
    A place I’d never, ever been before
    A place I never wanted to leave

    As I roamed around my new found place
    All that I laid my eyes on glowed beauty
    All was so clean and bright and perfect
    The whole place shined with a glorious glow
    The people all greeted me with inviting smiles
    The sun shone bright, yet the air was pleasant
    Like someplace you’d find in a travel magazine

    Then out of the corner of my eye I swear
    I saw Grandma and Grampa walking hand-in-hand
    With my sister that passed from an unknown ailment
    All happy and smiling and looking young and fit
    I froze in place as I watched them walk by
    My tongue failed its job as I choked on my words
    They walked right on past as if I didn’t even exist
    Then around the corner and out of my sight
    Suddenly it all became abundantly clear
    Where the here was that I had transported to

    Then I woke from my dream
    My midsummer night’s dream
    A glimpse into Heaven
    A taste of eternity
    My gift from God

    (c) Earl Parsons

  7.  
     
    MIDSUMMER

    Behind a veil of light,
    in spite, winter climbs –
    able to shorten my days
    mid dream.

    But on this summer day,
    wintry musings will not
    tilt me away from the sun.
    Not yet. Night will have to wait.

    ~ Nurit Israeli

  8.  
     
    Loss in Summer (a ghazal)

    Under weeping willows he pines for her
    All that he sees makes him pine for her

    Lost in a mid-summer’s dream–her face drifts,
    borne in beauteous form. He sighs for her.

    Summer breeze ruffles lace curtains,
    cooling his skin, yet within his heart, he cries for her.

    His mind is a litany of whys– Was he not bright,
    or witty enough to shine for her?

    Perhaps his lack of wealth made her turn away;
    she played with him, yet he’d build a shrine for her.

    He fears summer will last an eternity,
    no autumn hues imbue the oak-no sign of her.

    He closes his eyes, tries to dream a new ending
    where he long longer pines for her.

  9. Note to my friends: My youngest son, John, arrives tomorrow for a 2-week visit, so I’m apt to be a bit quiet here. I’ll try to keep up with the prompts though.

    To Melt

    There was a time
          I’d melt.
    An ice cube
    In a steam room.
          A puddle
    For his broom.
    For his smile.
    But I’ve also had lengthy
    Conversations with trees.

  10.  
     
    Our Love

    Like Hippolyta and Theseus,
    with our love unfurled,
    we bring order, stability,
    steadfast loyalty,
    bright light in a dark world.
    Ours is not a dream,
    there’s no magic in our art,
    though to others it might so seem,
    we simply play our part.
    Cupid’s arrows never struck,
    with mysterious love potions,
    no magic flower picked by Puck,
    creating dreamlike notions.
    No accident, no stroke of luck,
    we do not bumble,
    seldom stumble,
    satisfied each day
    with what life has had to say.
    No star-cross’d lovers,
    hoping for do-overs,
    no need for enchantment,
    T’would just impede our way.
    We’ve turned our dreams into reality,
    true visionaries, we let life be.
    Even if our love were a dream,
    it would need to be embraced,
    but no golden palace, no silver hill,
    no white elephant need be chased.
    Our love, like life,
    though not a dream, remains
    unfathomable, indescribable,
    it simply sits there, glowing.
    We cannot grasp it,
    so we simply
    bathe in its perplexity,
    revel in its complexity,
    be content in never knowing.

  11.  
     
    The Cricket

    Daddy always said that boy was
    a cricket caught in an air vent,
    but that’s what comes
    from trying too hard.
    You become an itch,
    just out of reach,
    become invisible, and
    impossible to ignore.
    But I had a weedy heart
    when I was 16, and it grew
    and grew, and climbed all over
    everything. Hormones. Truly.
    But every father has his limits,
    and one day Daddy’s mood
    turned stormy – he chased that boy
    down the street rolling thunderous
    words at him. And my cricket
    was never heard from again.

  12.  
     
    LOVERS IN THE NIGHT
    OF A MOON GLORIOUS

    Tis not just the glorious sphere, my love,
    that draws us to the tarn
    This night of nights when magic fills the air
    and tugs us both
    with threads unseen but iron-strong
    entwining us like yarn
    So close our breaths and hearts be shared,
    cocooned within our souls

    The fate-teller prophesied, were
    we to flee, this would be the time
    The night a moon of spectacular hue
    rises once a life, if that…
    She advised with certainty and no dispute
    and though firm, t’was also kind
    We talked a plan not over much; our
    love ’tis after all, our one prerequisite

    How calm, the waves allow for this,
    our tiny skiff set sail
    And Luna – truly full and berry pink
    emerges like a blessing
    There’s no doubt, we be gone this night,
    get away, without fail
    Love such as ours needs naught but this,
    the two of us, and no confessing.

  13.  
     
    perchance to dream

    a dream tapped me on the shoulder
    inviting me to leave behind
    reality and common sense
    to have a fling at tightrope walking
    and maybe even lion taming
    it teased me into fancy hats
    and robes of silky red and gold
    then led me through a long
    dark tunnel with walls of slimy brick
    it coaxed me into a tiny room and
    slammed the door behind me
    it chased me over a railroad trestle
    that crossed a raging river
    and ended in a house of mirrors
    and bobblehead clowns
    I wasn’t having any fun
    I wished I hadn’t followed
    just in time a sunbeam came to
    rescue me from night
    to safely bring me back to bed again

  16.  
     
    A Midsummer Night’s Mare

    muscles strain
    our movements are synced
    swift, steady
    sleek, sweaty
    skin a-glow in the moon’s light
    we ride through the night

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  22.  
     
    I Had a Dream

    I was longing for your touch,
    your smile, the sound of your voice
    crooning a lover’s lullaby

    and I awoke to the gentle night’s breeze
    whispering over the sheet
    and the silence before the birds sing

    I turned my head to find you watching me
    and you smiled, gathered me close and crooned
    and slumbering became a dream.

  23. Our Summer

    We only had one summer,
    A lifetime later I still recall
    Your laughter, your smile.
    Essence of you touched my soul
    Without a kiss you invaded
    the deepest part of me.
    My only. regret is I set you free

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