The days grow shorter and the white nights of the north are getting darker. Here is an excerpt from Zachris Topelius, Finnish poet and patriot, on northern summer nights.
“On a clear summer night in the far north, the whole sky glows and the air itself seems to shimmer in the soft, gentle light…When the sun goes down briefly, the whole of nature settles into a strange dreamy mood. The bringer of day is gone, birds fall silent, humans and animals seek rest and plants wait for night that does not come. Instead, a dim, silvery light spreads over forests, waters and shores. It is not the light of the sun, the moon or the stars, nor is it dusk. It is the night’s own radiance, serene yet festive, like eternal joy amid the transience of spring.”
Extract from “Our Land” by Zachris Topelius
Ulla Jordan 