Days are growing shorter Light glows with golden warmth Trees have begun to prepare Erupting ruby, garnet, citrine and amethyst No longer content to wear their mundane shades of green
Shadows dance upon my kitchen window The sun arcing shallower in the sky Tree limbs perform a pas de deux with the breeze For the enjoyment of an audience of one Summer's heat attempts to overstay its welcome Despite knowing it's invitation is expired
Roadside signs appear Announcing the arrival of apple season Orbs of every color and sweetness wait Dreaming of pie, tart, sauce, and cider
Clouds nestle sleepily in the mountain canyons each morning Melting away like spun sugar before noon Naked, Mt. Spokane stands watch over her river Awaiting the return of her crown of winter snows
The calendar changes With it the season Warm sun now Joined by coolest breeze Night comes earlier Mornings arrive later Trees put on a pageant Autumn has arrived
The leaves change here Oranges and reds popping out Amongst stubborn green The wind shifts Autumn comes to call The world leans in here Demands life to slow down The quiet season is coming The world makes ready its winter bed Telling you to pull out your blankets Candles and hearthfires Demanding preparations for long nights Wood smoke and hot chocolates And much needed rest
This brief, beautiful Preview of delightful Autumn With her crisp chilled nights And gray-sky mornings Will be brutally interrupted By Summer strolling Back onto the stage Despite having taken her bow For a sweaty encore That nobody wanted
Days grow shorter Mornings and evenings delightfully chilled Long afternoons warm, hazy, and tea-colored Cool breezes dance from the sea into the valley Making layered wardrobes a must this time of year
The world starts to quiet down Though restlessly at first Unwilling to relinquish summer's vitality Harvest season half complete The trees begin debuting their fall finery Resplendent in reds, golds, and browns As purple hues return to sunset skies
The golden hour earns its name now As the last dandelion seeds drift through dried grasses awash in glowing rays Shadows deepen as homes reflect amber radiance in westward facing window panes Preparing to welcome night's elongating visits earlier each day
The resting season is arriving It carries with it ghostly tales told under cloud-filtered moonlight Candlelight and story craft Blankets, books, and honeyed tea Soups, stews, and baked goods of all kinds Air laden with aromatic spices and yeast
The world grows gradually quieter Chirping crickets slow their masterpieces from allegro to adagio Singing the world into a calmer pace before putting away their instruments Fall readies to welcome dreamers and philosophers Writers and witches All the laborers of the mind and spirit Into its gentle comforting arms
This is my season The season Persephone returns to the underworld To take up her night-sky crown A season where darkness rules And pomegranate seeds glisten Like ruby drops of blood Across a dark and mossy earth A season where candlelight entwines with shadow And long nights lay steeped in vivid dreaming
In this season I embrace my own darkness Unafraid of the cold and the quiet For this is where magic lives Where the mythical and mystical thrive Weaving spells amongst the silence I remember my power just like Persephone For this is a season where the resolute thrive
I submerge into my own deep waters My dark reflection staring back at me As I descend into my true self Into the rejuvenation that exists At the heart of midnight I greet each version of myself Forgiving myself for every unkindness Every neglectful moment In this stillness where I am Safe and whole inside my power For this is the season I return to self Where I remember who I am A daughter of darkness and fire
