Sure on this Summer Night ~ A Poem by James Agee

Under Star-Made Shadows: Discovering Grace

In the hush of a summer night, Agee shows us that even in solitude, we are never truly alone—kindness and wonder light the way.

Sure on this Summer Night

James Agee

Sure on this shining night
Of star made shadows round,
Kindness must watch for me
This side the ground.
The late year lies down the north.
All is healed, all is health.
High summer holds the earth.
Hearts all whole.
Sure on this shining night I weep for wonder wand’ring far
alone
Of shadows on the stars.

Source

📝 Reflection

James Agee’s Sure on this Summer Night is a poem of stillness, yet it pulses with deep emotion. The night sky, with its “star made shadows,” becomes a sanctuary where kindness gently watches over us. Agee suggests that healing and wholeness are not distant goals but present realities—woven into the high summer air, the earth, and even our solitude. His lines blur the boundary between sorrow and awe, reminding us that to “weep for wonder” is to feel fully alive. This poem asks us to pause, notice, and trust that kindness is already near, even when we wander “far alone.” Perhaps Agee is telling us that to be human is to live within both shadow and starlight, always accompanied by an unseen grace.

How does Agee’s image of kindness “watching” for us reshape the way you view solitude or struggle in your own life?