Almost Autumn

 

We are in the 'almost autumn atmosphere'. A time caught in the anticipation of cool breezes and shortening days. You may wish for longer days again, where the sun shines late into the dusk hours. But lessened light gives me anchors of hope for the coming seasons. 

Whispers rustle amongst the branches outside my window that cooler air is soon to arrive. Even recently the gentle morning air reveals the hushed tones - the leaves noting a change in hue pondering ‘will it come’? Like a secret to be revealed, holding on the edge of anticipation until it comes.

I awaken every morning with the hope that a swift chill swept in overnight and suddenly I will need to don a sweater, but alas, not yet. Do you hang onto the months of jolly sunshine and rainy afternoons? It reminds me of the need we have for seasons - to have a cyclical reminder which comes around every year that change comes like tides of the seas - a rise and fall natural to our world yet continuing on without consulting the calendar. 

Do we ever give much thought as to why seasons are beneficial for us? From a contentedness standpoint, seasons help us appreciate the time of year we love the most, by experiencing its opposite. I gush endlessly about Autumn and Winter because it is the opposite of Summer. I write more poems that are drawn out by the colder seasons because they inspire me and it is a change from what it was for so long. 

I remember when I was a child in elementary school the thrill of feeling the season change. Suddenly I was sent off to school with a little jacket or sweater, and I did not fully understand why because sometimes it was not cold to me (children never feel that cold, do they?) but it thrilled me all the same because something was changing in the air. Even in Florida we felt a shift, albeit subtle, and then suddenly we will get a welcomed swoop of chilly air. I have many memories of heading off to school with a sweater and feeling so very happy about it because it felt special and different. It held an element of mystery and wonder to me.

And I still feel the same. I guess we are all still children in the core of our hearts, aren't we?