Welcome, poets! Frank Tassone here, your host for today’s Haibun Monday! As usual, we blend prose and haiku together to form that famous Japanese poetic form. And what a day to inspire our haibun! Yes, I’m talking about today, the first solstice of the year!

Which Solstice? Well, that depends on which side of the equator you live, doesn’t it?

A solstice is an event that occurs when the Sun appears to reach its most northerly or southerly excursion relative to the celestial equator on the celestial sphere. Two solstices occur annually, around June 21 and December 21. In many countries, the seasons of the year are determined by reference to the solstices and the equinoxes.

The term solstice can also be used in a broader sense, as the day when this occurs. The day of a solstice in either hemisphere…