What is so rare as a day in June?
I don't know that days in June have any kind of rarity value: the answer to the question, of course, is "a day in April, September or November". Days in February are a little rarer, while days in all the other months are not quite so rare. But this is what happens when you are obviously struggling for a rhyme.
If we allow a little poetic licence here and concede that days in June are rare (well, they are, compared to days that are not in June), I can think of some interesting responses to this question:
And what is so rare as a day in June?
- A song Madonna sings in tune.
- A Thai café with fork and spoon.
- A bit of grass upon the moon.
- A subway train that's coming soon.
- A hockey player from Cameroon.
The original was by somebody called James Russell Lowell, who wrote:
And what is so rare as a day in June?
Then, if ever, come perfect days;
Then Heaven tries earth if it be in tune,
And over it softly her warm ear lays;
Whether we look, or whether we listen,
We hear life murmur, or see it glisten…
Unfortunately, he spoils the effect a little by including the word "clod" in the next line (but fortunately for us, didn't put that word at the end of a line, where he would have had to find a word to rhyme with it).
Ah, yes, perfect days: life buzzing around us, warm sunshine, trips out to the country. On days like that, I find myself thinking God knew what he was doing with June. Such a shame, I think as I reflect upon my youth, that all the important school and university exams were also in June, because it meant I missed a lot of Junes right when I should have been enjoying them most. What were the examiners thinking?