When Autumn Comes

When Autumn Comes

By Elece Hollis

The day comes on warm and wet wind from the south

The sun shines and then doesn’t again

The wind blows out of the north by late afternoon

Strengthening––it blasts and in the night brings clear cold air

Soon Winter will arrive

The sun  disappear earlier every day

But Autumn sings to us

A sweet and fresh song

We snug our sweaters around us and unfold quilts onto our beds

Simmer soups and sip warm cider beside unnecessary fires

Autumn comes and brings reprieve from the heat

Rest from the long tiresome days

The plants turn eye-resting brown and scatter seeds on the wind

They are done with their fruit and seed bearing and are ready to lie down

To sleep awhile––then to change into cover to protect the ground from ice and snow

Next spring to be the fertilizer for this year’s seeds.

So autumn comes and with it rest

Geese fly off home––echoing fare-thee-wells into the dark

The sky rests in gray as the sun packs to vacation in other lands