In Which Autumn Attends a Beach Party

so this one is super old -- dredged up from September 2000 -- but i think most are aware of my long running obsession with all things fall:


In which Autumn attends a beach party

There’s a chill in the air tonight that I had long forgotten,
as if Autumn had suddenly strolled into a beach party
draped in a cloak of fiery leaves-
(just yesterday, I could have sworn they were green)
but now here she is, surrounded by them,
with her auburn hair tumbling over bare shoulders.

How could anyone have forgotten her beauty?
Her presence is striking, and suddenly the Sun
seems too harsh for the setting.
Knowingly, he fades into the sky and the light becomes softer.

Unsure now if she plans to stay, we glance wistfully at the trees,
then the calendar. How did the months slip by
when only minutes ago the Sun burned so intensely?

Autumn seems to sense our reluctance-
with a soft smile and a nod of reprieve,
she slips through the crowd and disappears.
A single flame-colored leaf floats to the ground where she stood,
a reminder that Autumn is close by and Summer grows distant.