Poem of the Week: After Many Springs by Langston Hughes

Now, / In June,

Caravaggio, Giuditta e Oloferne (detail)

After Many Springs
Langston Hughes

Now,
In June,
When the night is a vast softness
Filled with blue stars,
And broken shafts of moon-glimmer
Fall upon the earth,
Am I too old to see the fairies dance?
I cannot find them any more.

This poem appeared in The Weary Blues (Alfred A. Knopf, 1926).

Do you still see the fairies?

This poem is so quiet and wistful, is it not? In this quick poem, the speaker explores the nuances of small, aching wonder. My particularly favorite flourishes that expand on this wonder include: blue stars, moon-glimmer, and a vast softness. As the speaker bends into the passage of time and night’s totality, and the fragile connection between wonder and loss. It’s not about mourning what is, it’s about mourning what was once seen.