October Grace
October’s grace is a gift
a week or two of second summer
arrive after the first course
what feels a plunge
into dreary days of rain
winds that strip many trees bare
the shiver thrill of first frosts
when sweaters and socks do not suffice
to curb the chill
mornings and evenings
and anticipatory minds turn
to wintry thoughts
with a certain melancholy
Second summer
Old wives’ summer
Indian summer
is a sweet interlude
a gift that glows bright
as maples birches oaks willows sway
amid the company of others
harbouring yet unfallen foliage
luminescent and rustling
in their bronze copper purplish or red-golden garb
a glory of gentle warmth
we know is fleeting
for the shadows hold no heat
and the sun sets sooner
its pinks and oranges streaking the sky
ever more visibly through deciduous woodlands
The Widow Wyile’s house gleams
amid the autumnal splendour
its own fresh painted sides
blending sun bright
amid its tree-ringed spot
wafting the fragrant drift
of woodsmoke into the air
some nippy mornings
some brisk evenings
while the vivid green kale
with violet or light cabbage veins
flourishes in her wild gardens
delighted by the overall cooling
The week or two of second summer
stretches its short span
of prime afternoon hours
viscerally delectable
as the brilliant leaves
twirl and drop
accumulate in a pleasingly crunchy
carpet upon still growing grasses
a precious time
demarcated by cold and lengthening dark
that heightens our appreciation
of change and its circular inevitability
lit by hunter’s moon and steady sun
image credit: By William Trost Richards - http://www.artrenewal.org/asp/database/image.asp?id=20695, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4824995