Changes of September

· by · in free verse, poetry. ·


I’m never quite prepared for changes of September.
When days are fading, as summer daylight in abundance,
change to early dusk and evenings
weighted by a starless night.
I’ve been more like a grasshopper than an ant
I’ve spent the summer days in idleness and joy,
I’ve postponed the things I should have done before.
Postponed them to these days when early autumn
gives me sips of winter in the morning mist,
as I bicycle to work, still in Indian summer.
I stop and search the trees, still mostly green,
for autumn signs,
when foliage blushes from the frosty kisses of September nights.

The September air is high and clear,
like crystal lacking weight,
like water very close to ice.
but still the air is heavy with a musty smell of first decay.
I hear the revolutionary songs repeated
over centuries there’s been a push for change
I’m never quite prepared for revolutions of September.

September Kiss by Gillian Ayres

September Kiss by Gillian Ayres


—
Grace inspires us to write about September at Toads. I will also link this to Poetry United
—
September 14, 2014

44 responses to “Changes of September”

  1. Ah, the september melancholia…Love the line “I’ve been more like a grasshopper than an ant” …and how nicely you developed it in the revolution in September…I’m not ready yet too to this change 🙂

  2. As much as I love the colors of Autumn, the warm days and cool nights, I’m never ready for the days to grow shorter, drives home from work changing from daylight, to dusk to complete darkness. You have captured the changes well.

  3. I am with you, Bjorn. I am never prepared for September either. So true that summer is often an idle time, and all that we waited to do hits us in the face in September…..when we can deny that autumn is on the horizon no more.

  4. Your words remind me of September in your country where the season always seemed to be a bit more advanced than in France. You have evoked the change of September in a way that makes me a little nostalgic for Sweden.

  5. Yes, I am never prepared for the changes myself ~ I specially admire the ambivalence you captured here:

    The September air is high and clear,
    like crystal lacking weight,
    like water very close to ice.

    Thanks for participating Bjorn and wishing you happy weekend ~

  8. Very real pre-Autumn scenario and very well prepared for the slight change. In a way it is good as the the transition in Autumn is tempered from hot extreme to cold. Great write Bjorn!

    Hank

  14. As a school person for whom September feels like the beginning of a new year, I’ve always been ready and eager for its revolutions!

  15. I like this a lot, and your use of the word “revolutions”. Myself, I am always more than ready. Summer always seems to me like a guest who has stayed too long, talked too much, and assumed more intimacy than was really there.

  17. Lovely! and true for me too. Being prepared these days requires so much more than the Aesop’s fable depicts, even though stores are accessible to all. So much more fun to sip the air and eat the daily beauty.

  20. Luv “sips of winter” really nice imagery, thanks for stopping by my blog,please revisit and read ithe haiku again, again though since (dearth is a lack of) no bliss there

    Much love…

  21. I love the poetic observations of the first stanza but the second really takes it away for contemplative exploration of change.

  24. I loved this piece! I have been feeling this push toward Autumn although we are still so warm here that it is difficult to wrap my head around it–you captured the feel of this so well for me

  28. This line: “these days when early autumn
    gives me sips of winter in the morning mist”–
    what an absolutely perfect way to describe this time of year….it is exactly like that….sips of winter. Beautiful.

  29. I think the arrival of autumn is like tap on the shoulder which reminds of the passage of time and you have described so well in your beautiful words.

  30. Lovely poem Bjorn. I too am hesitant to let go of summer. I love its long days of abundant light that seem to give us more playful energy. There are some beautiful lines in this poem.

  33. I think we both had a bit of fall on our minds..my fav line Bjorn ..wish I had written that line..smiling
    when foliage blushes from the frosty kisses of September nights.

  34. September’s revolt – blood red and bursting with an energy explosive – too soon faded and silent. This was lovely – yes, I am often taken by surprise and chastising myself of all the things I have put off… Lovely poem.

  36. Love the tone of this poem. It sounds very intimate, like a conversation between friends sitting on a couch very close together…

    And this line made me close my eyes and inhale deeply: “autumn
    gives me sips of winter in the morning mist.”

  38. i really enjoyed this poem. there is so much joy in those words.
    the september i know is so much different here. right now, there is a haze outside the window, probably caused by forest fires from a neighbouring country. 😦

  39. I like this. I love your words ‘…when early autumn gives me sips of winter in the morning mist’. I love that feeling and always look forward to Autumn. That’s my favorite season 🙂

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