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
Oh Northwest Wind
Bring forth your breeze
And with your breath make summer ease
Oh Northwest Wind
Gift your crisp, biting air
That tells us Fall will soon come to bear
Oh Northwest Wind
Please do not tease
Instead, herald the changing of the leaves
Oh Northwest Wind
Return us our foggy blanket
So we may start dreaming of harvest banquets
Oh Northwest Wind
Please place kisses on our skin
So Summer knows its rule is at an end
Oh Northwest Wind
Time to dance through the pines
While we bundle in sweaters and sip rich wine
Oh Northwest Wind
Please bless us from above
So that we may give thanks with Autumnal love
-gws