a harmony?

Autumnal Equinox ‘17

the air is still, at peace,

as if it pauses between summer and fall,

feels both the swelter of August

and the brace of October,

and thus feels neither,

the ginkgo, dogwood,  and maple foreshadow fall,

some of their leaves return home

as they bleach toward yellow and red,

dead dry leaves start to pepper the ground

in premonition of the exuberance

that will let go in about six weeks,

the garden is cleared of beans and squash and tomatoes,

the okra still exuberant,



 fall lettuce just sprouted,

the Indian pumpkin makes a final push

to set more fruit 



and sweeten what is already set,

my late gourds also rush to be,

we are halfway through a year that starts and ends with Solstice,

Persephone back in Hades today for six months,

this is a time of bounty, and incipient loss,

at school today we chanted:

“Equi, Equi, Equinox,

Day and night, half and half. . .”

we celebrated with cookies, half vanilla and half chocolate,

celestially we are in balance,

a balance we only hope at

in the tempestuous reality of how we live our days.

by Henry H. Walker

September 22, ‘17