One of the odd situations in which Mediterranean archaeologists find themselves is being surrounded, from time to time, by people on vacation. It’s a reminder that for many people the summer months offer chances to go on vacation, make memories, and spend time with family. While my many years of field archaeology have often been memorable, I envy the folks who I see on vacation with their families and friends.

For this reason, and the timely title of the poem, I thought it was useful to post Eric Marchand’s poem “Third Week of June” which evokes the nostalgia and family of so many summer vacations that as an adult, I can only imagine. It appeared in NDQ 90.1/2. Click here to read more from that issue.

If you feel like you want to explore NDQ more, check out our digital archive  and the digital anthology of the first 90 volumes of the journal: NDQ@90 . 

We would also love it for more of you to subscribe to NDQ. The only way that venerable journals like ours survives is if we continue to build our subscriber base. To subscribe, go here.

Third Week of June

When I was younger, my parents took us on trips

Adventures more like
Caving, canoeing, skiing, climbing
Some turned into real adventures
Some just for us

But one stands out

And I keep going back
Third week of June, my father would say
I heard it is getting close, my father would say
Rhododendron

I have been on mountain tops before and since

Different mountains, east, west, other countries
This one is different
Is it my history, a tie to my family?
Third week of June

Loaded up in a big blue van

It was a two-hour drive at the time
It doesn’t seem so far these days
Maybe the drive made it feel more an adventure
Roan Mountain

We would start at Carver’s Gap

Hike up the hillside, running, laughing
I remember few of the details
My father likes the flowers, all in bloom
Not for me

Peaceful, even with the wind blowing

A cold wind, but a warmth of belonging
Hundred-mile views, but still grounded
Rolling mountains and trees
A connection

But times are changing, the winds change

I go as often as I can
Work and life keep me tied up
But out on the mountain it all comes back
A mental resetting

Some change is good, expected

But it is not just me changing
The second week of June now mostly
The damp winds seep through
More turbulent somehow

This year I plan to go back

I will take my family, an adventure
Second week of June, it’s getting close
I want to go back
To go back

~

Dr. Eric Marland is a professor at Appalachian State University and loves working at the boundaries between disciplines. He engages in interdisciplinary work with collaborators across many disciplines and recently began co-teaching a class in communicating science.

90.1/2