October

in october everything changes / the light is different / the air is different / it’s not september anymore / in september you can still cheat / convince yourself that you will live forever / that the sun will stop in its tracks north of the equator / that the winds will always rush in from the south / and the nights will be filled with tangos and romance and fine ladies with red painted lips and nails to match / but look around today / there is no place to hide today

the breeze is still soft but it has lost its confidence / the leaves / no longer supple green / today they rattle in the passing air / my love still lies outside my window / exposed in the afternoon sun / but now the valleys of her curves are shadowed by her brown prominence / the rays slant in low and yellow and tired / coming from way back last july

i so clearly recall my grandfather standing in our parlor one early october day a long time ago / staring out the window at the yard / he did not see me there in the doorway / but i could tell he was softly sobbing / i asked him what was wrong / he said he was sad to see the coming of the fall / that he had lived too long