Somber Autumn Poem by Suzanne Hayasaki

There is a somber beauty to autumn
With its low-lying gray skies
Laden with portents of first frosts
And long, quiet nights.

Insects no longer sing.
The frogs are long gone to sleep,
Dreaming of the far-off spring,
Burrowed deep below the fallow fields.

Now crows scavenge among close cut rows
Where egrets spent the summer months
Gracefully wading through flooded paddies
Searching for hopping, slithering, swimming prey.

In the mountains, bright bursts of yellow ginkgo
Light up the cedar forests here and there
For a few sweet weeks before trees fall bare
Until wild cherry blossoms splash color on the pine green again.

Closer to home, persimmons are hung out to dry,
And thick quilts are aired on second-story verandas
Adding a patchwork of colors to the dark, aging wood
Of the unpainted walls of old farmhouses.

Familiar and yet not home to me,
With my memories of Halloween
And autumn wreaths
And soon Christmas trees and lights.

Cinnamon and apple cider,
Pumpkin pie and high school rivalries,
Sitting in bleachers, cheering for hometown heroes,
Driving on icy roads, wary of leaping deer.

Somehow both resurrect in my mind
When the chill sinks into my skin
And I pack away my summer flights of fancy
And settle in for a diligent winter of fruition.