Me, spilling out all my thoughts, inner and outer, on just about anything! Lots of poetry, short stories from past experiences, anecdotes about teaching elementary school, music, relationships....garage sale type thing...Something For Everyone!

Thursday, September 06, 2007

The Dichotomy of September

Diana over at Piffle asked us this: How goes it for all of you; the start of the other side of summer?

My answer was that it probably depended on what kind of day it was that I replied. On a beautiful sunny day, I'd think September was glorious and happy, such shades of summer. But on a cool, rainy day, my outlook would be bleak. September is so variable and has such mood swings! That whole idea prompted this two-sided poem.

My sunny happy response.......



sunny warm days
drench us in fresh summer memories
barely formed
neighbour's children dive into the pool
breaking the surface
with carefree laughter
cicadas saw their z's
glad of the chance to announce
the heat of day
huge Black-eyed Susans
blink lazily at us
from their thick clump
throughout the long still day
they do not stir
the red tomatoes bulge in ripeness
begging for a knife
the sweet and sour succulence
of Concord grapes
are bunched in baskets
and tightly wrapped
in their purple skins
the Peaches and Cream corn
crunches its offering of ecstasy
crisp tart red apples
hang down from the branches
like globes waiting to be plucked
a rain shower is welcomed
in the steamy evening
and the ground drinks it in thirstily -
the bounty and vitality
of the summer
suspended at its peak



FLIPSIDE.....



sadly, the sun's zenith shrinks,
slipping lower than
in high noon June
with its promise
of summer days yet to live
and as its arc diminishes
my spirit responds in kind
listless in its lament -
my favourite months will soon end
and
so many reminders
of the little time left
to savour them
the drought has dried up all the grass
so lush in July
the dandelion fluffs float
free to seed once again
old pale and dry Bleeding Hearts
still swing from their clotheslines
hanging on desperately
to the garden scene
summer slowly seeps away
northerly winds
blow in from cooler climes
I shiver as I shut some windows,
add a comforter,
curl up and cocoon,
thoughts of soup
simmering in my mind -
chorus of crickets
proclaiming the clock
ticking into fall
So which way do you view September?

Labels:

14 Comments:

Blogger Pauline said...

"thoughts of soup
simmering in my mind"

Oh, in mine, too - I like all the seasons but I like best the spring and fall.

Thursday, September 06, 2007

 
Blogger twilite said...

Hi moi! Strangely I love the rhythm of rain and fall for its beautiful colors. The occasional chill prepares me for the deep winter.

Enjoyed the word contrasting pictures -- especially its colors.

Thursday, September 06, 2007

 
Blogger bulletholes said...

September is fickle...last year we had 14 days at 100degrees in September...but some years you can get a pretty good cold snap the last week...but even if its hot you know cooler days are close...
Summer haze is replaced by bluer skys and clear nights.

I like September because its kind of like the start of a new year... back to School with a renewed desire to do better...and its definitely the start of a new season.

And Football!

Friday, September 07, 2007

 
Blogger goatman said...

I love your approach. The yin and yang of it. Ambivalence brought about by most change is nicely expressed.
I would go with the bright summer part and then a bright fall part since the folding up and death of fall life needs all the help it can get to have a hopeful side.

Reminds me, I hafta start cutting some firewood.

Friday, September 07, 2007

 
Blogger Mother of Invention said...

Pauline: I never make soup in the summer, except cold soup. I love spring for the hope eternal and newness, summer for its glory and holiday time, fall for crispness and colours, and winter, for ontl the months of Dec. and Jan. for the repeated delight of new snow and Christmas. I really have a tough time with Feb. and March and to a lesser extent Nov. They seem so stagnant.

Twilite: Thanks. It is such a contradiction and jades your whole way of thinking of it. I love fall too and the first snowstorms...which quickly wear thin by Feb.! What are the different seasons like there I wonder? Do a post sometime on this so we can compare.

Steve: Yes, very fickle, but we do know what lies ahead even if it's hot and fools us for a day or two.

I agree that for me, and many other teachers, Sept. is more like a new year than Jan. 1st. It dictates your outlook for a whole year depending on how it goes! And the kids make it or break it!

Football? BAH!

Goatman: Thanks. Comes from my indecisiveness perhaps and I really do change my outlook on many things according to the weather.

I tend to always want to highlight the bright side and have a positive upswing for most things. I'm never black and white.

Sharpen your axe! You're lucky to have a REAL fireplace. I love the smell of fireplace smoke in the fall or winter air!

Friday, September 07, 2007

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oh my. I'm listening and loving your YouTube on your sidebar!! I love this time of the year. When I tell people Fall is my favorite season I get a lot of frowns. "Things are dying Joy, how can it be your favorite time?" But it is and it's probably because I never look at it as a time of things dying. Michelle sent me and glad she did!

Friday, September 07, 2007

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I love your words.

It truly does depend on the day. Today is one of those dreary cool and overcast days.. but it is also the first day of a weeks vacation.. so I can't help but feel good about it. :-)

Saturday, September 08, 2007

 
Blogger urban-urchin said...

I love September- the fall, nature drowsy as it prepares for winter and the gorgeous colors. Not to mention the light in the fall is so beautiful....

Saturday, September 08, 2007

 
Blogger Mother of Invention said...

Joy: Thanks! That song is the first one I ever wrote and recorded! The video was made by a blogger friend at Words That Flow on my sidebar.

I really like the crispness and bright colours of fall too.

Coll: Yes, time off will colour your perspective as positive!
Thanks so much. September does seem to change on a dime. I suppose we shall be getting your weather a few days from now! I don't need a forecast, I'l just ask you!

urban urchin: I agree. The fall is very special. The colours are even neat when it's raining (like soggy cornflakes in milk!) but fabulous when the sun's out! It just makes you feel alive.

Saturday, September 08, 2007

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

First of all: great poems - thanks for sharing - your so good with words!

My view of September: well, coming from Norway and also having the joy of significant four seasons, I think September is great and one of the reasons is the Golden Beauty
as you might remember:-)

Saturday, September 08, 2007

 
Blogger Diana said...

Flipside, indeed, is how I think of autumn. I relish the season, both the drizzly, coldish days and the bright, brilliant days, but I mourn the summer.

Monday, September 10, 2007

 
Blogger Mother of Invention said...

Renny: Thank you for your compliments! Yes, I even saw my comment on it! You may be slightly ahead of us in coloured trees....I loved that red maple picture!

Diana: My sentiments exactly. I always associate summer with freedom from work and obligations and just socialising and enjoying the great weather with friends. Now that I don't work, I just plain miss the nice days, but NOT the heat waves!

Monday, September 10, 2007

 
Blogger Lynette said...

aahh both of these poems were so glorious I was feeling different moods as I read each one. I can tell you that I am looking forward to a big pot of hot homemade chili and the holidays coming up!

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

 
Blogger Mother of Invention said...

Lynnete: Then, you got exactly what I was trying to do as a writer; feel the different moods. You are an artist so maybe that's why you feel moods like you do when you look and create art.
And I bet you make good chili!

Thursday, September 13, 2007

 

Post a Comment

<< Home