#ExcerptWeek – Poem from Summer Magic by Marcia Meara

/ Marcia Meara

The first half of this little book contains a series of poems featuring my Wake-Robin Ridge hero, MacKenzie Cole, as a boy of ten, exploring his beloved North Carolina mountains each summer, with his dad. The second half contains poetry about Life. And Love. (Hence the line at the bottom of the cover. 😀 I’ve chosen to share one of Mac’s poems, since the Perseid meteor shower can be counted on to show up right around August, every year. I hope you enjoy it.

Star-Gazing by Marcia Meara

The Perseids . . .
Lying back under
The ink-blotted sky,
He tries out the words.
They tickle his tongue.
The Per-see-ids. Those
Pinpoints of brightness
And streaks of fire,
Lighting the night
In a spectacle
Older than he can
Possibly know.

Look Dad, he cries,
Look how many!
I see a hundred,
Maybe a thousand!
I see them, too,
Dad says,
And together, they laugh,
Delighted!
Joy shared,
And excitement
Doubled.

Come see the meteors,
Dad said, as he
Shook him awake
Just before dawn.
He crawled from the tent,
Rubbing his eyes,
Then staring in wonder.
With the sky still a midnight black,
And bright stars wheeling overhead,
The fireworks came.
Racing toward Earth,
One after another,
The Perseids.
The miracle of hot August nights.
A late-summer light show
That electrified his soul.
His young heart transfixed
By the sight of the universe,
Lit with streamers
Of flame.

A meteor shower,
Dad tells him again,
But he knows nothing
So beautiful has a name
So ordinary.
Stars, he thinks, pulled loose
From the fabric of the sky,
And flung toward earth,
Trailing silver and gold,
And bringing pieces of Heaven
To those watching below.

He holds up his hands,
Cupped reverently,
To catch one of his own.
To be blessed by
This summer magic.
He holds his breath, waiting
For the illumination
Of his soul to begin.
Falling stars,
Falling from the
Summer sky,
For him.

Since my bio and photo are already on display in several places on this site, I’m going to skip that, and just share a couple of lovely reviews, instead.

“What beautiful, sensory poems! In Summer Magic, Marcia Meara writes that “Sometimes I think I’m drowning in a sea of words . . . Words have the power to make us laugh and cry . . . They lift us up in joy or slam us to the ground in misery . . . Amazing things, words.” And her beautiful poems use words to do just that. When I read the poems of Mac at Ten, I’m there with that little boy, not just seeing, but feeling it all––the magic of a sunrise, the fun of collecting treasures, the beauty of a meteor shower, the freedom of a carefree summer.”
~Elizabeth Vollstadt

” . . . a perfect read for a languid summer’s day or a long weekend like this one. Taking a breather from grilling and eating, reading the book is like dangling your toes in a cool, rippling brook. It’s not just her poems that reflect the childhood joy of plunging into cool green waters from a “Rope Swing,” or the ‘drip-drip’ of “Showers” on a rainy day that will give you that creekside, summer experience. “Summer Magic” the first poem, and the one that gives the book its title, is awash in words that conjure summer. My favorite lines from the poem:

There! A thin curve of molten red!
A far away sliver of fiery light
Breaks the horizon.”
~SUMMER

You can download Summer Magic here.

The Perseids

26 thoughts on “#ExcerptWeek – Poem from Summer Magic by Marcia Meara”

    • Thanks so much for such a nice comment. Mac was an extraordinary little boy, filled with joy and excitement about the world around him. Then life dealt him a blow he almost didn’t survive, and things got tough for a long time. (This last part is the foundation of my first novel, Wake-Robin Ridge). But throughout his entire life, he never, ever lost his love of the North Carolina mountains, and that’s right where he went for solace.

      I’m really pleased you enjoyed the poem! Hope to see some of yours here this week, too. 🙂

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    • You are very welcome, Marie, and thanks for the compliment. You know, I’ve never seen a meteor shower, something I would love to experience. Glad you enjoyed sharing one with Mac. 🙂

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    • Thanks, Judith. I’m very pleased you like it. I’ll post another from the 2nd half of the book on another day. One isn’t likely to get rich writing poetry, that’s for sure, but it is still something I love very much, and I’m happy to have a way to publish it, even if sales will always lag behind those of novels. 🙂

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  11. I used to love writing poetry then I found short stories… then I found long stories and was lost to ‘the novel’ 🙂
    I love Poe when read by someone like Jame Earl Jones or Morgan Freeman. One isn’t likely to get rich writing poetry, that’s for sure, but it is still something I love very much, and I’m happy to have a way to publish it, even if sales will always lag behind those of novels.

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    • My feelings exactly. Though I haven’t written any new poems in the last 3 years, since my novels have sort of taken over. But I do have some ideas for a new collection, and I hope to find time to focus on them soon. Thanks for stopping by, and I’m glad you enjoyed this one. Hope you’ll check out Summer Magic, when you get a chance. 🙂

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