Thursday, November 16, 2017

Autumn Almanac in a S.A.D. land

Once again, I start in autumn                                   Fall hasn’t really hit yet
as if my biorhythms                                                  the longer nights hide
are more in synch                                                      in the Trojan horse
with the Jewish New Year                                        of the hot October
than the official American                                        supernova

though I understand why                                          I mean I guess
some would gerrymander                                         you could say decay
time to make the darkest,                                          starts the first day
if not yet the coldest,                                                 of summer
day we fear the most                                                  if you measure
first, & get it out                                                         progress by daylight
of the way with 6 months                                          if not heat
of increase to look                                                     in this English
forward to                                                                  speaking climate

& it’s always                                                              if autumn comes
easier to say                                                                it’s okay to
“screw the seasons”                                                    slow everything down
on a room temperature                                               & not try to pave over
early autumn day                                                        difference with
maybe for the same                                                    room temperature
reason it’s easier                                                         and just coz I love
to transcend                                                                April in April,
page stage dualism                                                     we don’t spring
on paper                                                                      but fall in love

2. “Between Births”

Recorded in May                                                       Released in November
If I say leaf, do you                                                    Store nuts? Keep
picture spring or fall?                                                 broken records?
Do buds spring                                                           all weekend
in spring so that                                                          bottomless pit
green leaves could be                                                 falling, & you may
be called leaps in good                                               need a jar of
faith somewhere                                                         Halloween fireflies
between reason and rhyme?                                       to write
Do summer snowcones                                              in October at 7,
war with winter                                                          November at 5
pinecones in spring                                                     to land on a cliff
but peace with them                                                    that forces you
in fall? At first,                                                            back off it,
in a second? Why                                                        every stormy Monday
call autumn fall?                                                          in 1934, between
Autumn falls                                                                depression babies
like night falls                                                              who have more
on day, as the yellow                                                   in common with
disk, sets I mean                                                          the old testament
leaves. Leaves fall.                                                      than the new coz
Leaves leave. I could                                                   it’s Libra & the day
as leif would well believe                                            of atonement
trees clearly push leaves                                              is still fresh
away, shake them                                                         in short term memory
off like the hair                                                             of a collective
on Shakespeare’s head                                                 unconscious between
as sap retreats                                                               the record store where
back down the trunk                                                     you can borrow books   
as if only in autumn                                                      and the community
can the middle aged                                                      center with swingsets
act their age, like                                                           in the backyard
we’re near the end                                                         in the dark park
(and myth has it                                                             that only a month ago
that’s how the young                                                     would’ve been light
man in black                                                                  on the verge of
passed the audition                                                        a harvest moon
for Sun) & northern                                                       covered by clouds
man could ever                                                              in the Gregorian calendar
improve on nature                                                         on indigenous people’s day.
then Froz-Nil-imbo                                                        and soon the naked
and maybe it’s better                                                     trees are happy now
to start, like Persians                                                    since lumberjacks                                                    in Spring, April fools.                                                  are hibernating.
                                                                   

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