I Am Autumn

“Autumn Abstract” by David Lane

 

I am autumn

come sit here with me

bring your silence

as summer recedes

give us listen

my speeches of color

each outburst

a soundless explosion

reflecting the thoughts

that I know to be

troubling you

draped with despair

helpless grief

at the dying of summer

and with it its promise

to make you a place

in its ancient admired

beds of beauty

a place of respect

an inclusion

in cultural gardens

conveying a dignity

long in abeyance

withheld by ambivalent

warm sun and sky

too preoccupied

with their familiars

to recognize differences

strengthen their realm

that diversity serves

to enrich their dominion

their vast astronomical

prelacy pointless

unless it will bless both

the silent and vocal

the dreary and vivid

the weak and the strong

I am autumn

come sit here with me

mark my colors

these old and new

foreign and

native phrased hues

brief reminders

that illustrate why

life is better in spectrum

my job is transition

my joy to recite of those

unfulfilled promises

dying does not

lead to death

but a fading to sleep

for a season of rest

a few months of reflection

to contemplate coolly

the culpable civics

mistakenly geared

to aversion of change

I am autumn

come sit here with me

let’s compose a new world

a new portrait of words

to arrive with

fresh ethical flourish

of wider compassion

awakened in spring