Reading · A Tangerine Moon

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                                                   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
                                                                            𑁍
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                                                 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

~ 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 :)

If reading this meant something to you, and you’d like others to find their way to A Tangerine Moon, you can share the moonlight through a ♡, comment, restack, or email — thank you :)

Summer is

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