June
A new month, a new banner, another prompt

Thank you, Chris Alleyne, for providing the first of our “photo contest” banners!
Other participants in the contest shouldn't give up hope; several photos are saved for future months, and I’m still accepting new photos.
“I wonder what it would be like to live in a world where it was always June.” ― L. M. Montgomery, Anne of the Island
June is a childhood month — school lets out, vacation begins, days are long and lazy.
Except, everything is different this year — a year that is already overburdened with illness, death, financial despair, and now riots. School hasn’t been “in” for a few months. No final days. No hugs good-bye. No graduation ceremonies.
It’s not the month I remember from my childhood, which is one of the reasons I chose this particular photo. It reminds me of my childhood Junes in Virginia, living on a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay.
June was the beginning of hot days spent swimming, water skiing, boating, and sunbathing on towels draped down long wooden piers that jutted into Lodge Creek, while birds, like this one, watched us from atop the pilings.
But, my summer was not the summer of many. I lived in an area where residents, including children, spent long hot hours fishing, crabbing, and working in the fields. I was fortunate to only have housework as a responsibility. Others, particularly those of color, were much less fortunate.
Our June, this June of 2020, is not one of innocence. It is one of pain, sorrow, fear, and anger. As I think about it, it’s not unlike the Summer of 1969:
Will the Summer of 2020 be as revolutionary as the Summer of 1969? How will this story end?
Weeds & Wildflowers already has one writing prompt for the month, Celebration Memories:
Now, I’d like to add another one that will commemorate this June of 2020 in all its pain and promise: the prompt is simply:
Poems of June 2020
Write poetry about what this historic June is to you — the good, the bad, and the ugly — the big news being played out on TV and computer screens across the world and the living room story only you see.
What will this June be to you?
Feel free to write more than one poem. I’d like to see how our vision of June changes from the first day to the 30th.
And, here is my favorite summertime song:
