Seasons & Souls

Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) lived most of her life in quiet Amherst, Massachusetts, where she wrote nearly 1,800 poems, only a handful of which saw print during her lifetime. Dickinson's poetry is deeply introspective and surprisingly unconventional, and she was a keen observer of  nature, creation, our mortality, and faith.

Below is Dickinson’s brief dialogue of the seasons -- her Poem #386 -- where July, May, the Jay, and the Year each speak, inviting us to consider the cycle of growth, rest, and renewal that undergirds every moment of our lives:

Answer July -- 
Where is the Bee -- 
Where is the Blush -- 

Where is the Hay?

Ah, said July -- 
Where is the Seed -- 
Where is the Bud -- 
Where is the May -- 
Answer Thee -- Me -- 

Nay -- said the May -- 
Show me the Snow -- 
Show me the Bells -- 
Show me the Jay!

Quibbled the Jay -- 
Where be the Maize -- 
Where be the Haze -- 
Where be the Bur?
Here -- said the Year -- 

In just 16 lines, Dickinson animates the land and sky, prompting us to look -- and listen -- more deeply. “Answer July” reminds us that every season has its questions and its answers, from the blush of spring to the harvest of summer, the hush of winter to the promise of rebirth.

As we move into July, may we echo Dickinson’s wonder and pay heed to the voice of the Year -- God’s great symphony of time and tide: For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven (Ecclesiastes 3:1). Let us embrace whatever season we find ourselves in, trusting that the Author of creation writes each chapter with purpose and grace.