September, 2021
Stonewashed afternoon
September’s slow
But steady softening
We heard whispers
That Summer’s right flank
Had just collapsed
And the armies of darkness
Were pouring into the breach
Couple of weeks later
I got an exclusive invitation
To the funeral
Everyone who was anyone came
Spring was dressed
From head to toe
In daffodil yellow
Ever the optimist
Meanwhile
The crescent moon
Sniggered in the corner
With the fox cubs
And the first fallen leaves
Autumn was busy giving out flyers
for Match of the Day
Poirot reruns
And deep-fried memories
With a side of stewed apple
Cold comfort
Served up warm
But despite winter’s
Hulking prototype
Still lilting crowds gathered
With postcards and lawnmowers
Outside pubs
Camped on street corners
Gesticulating wildly
As though discoveries
As though life
Was still being made
But the birds
The light
The hope
Their numbers
And their strength
Were fading
As park gates
Rein in their hours
Badgers begin
Sketching their tunnels
And burnished gold turns
From sun
To dizzying bulbs
Casting shadow
Among bacon-buttered
Brickwork
That end of seasonal Venn
When we lurch from creating
To consuming life
When we find solace
In the cup of undrunk coffee
After we finally
Forlornly flick
The shunning switch
That holds the memory
Of haystack
Of bumblebee
And honey
Back to work
To fractured, uncertain dawn
And blameless, unaccountable rain
Back to school
For children and adults alike
Some of us learning
How best to be
Most of us having already forgotten
Forgone
Or busy forgetting.
