September

September

She is a quietly beautiful girl.

Her eyes are brilliant blue skies,

born in the cool of the morning just as the fog lifted.

She's got a complexion that is somewhere between summer and fall.

Not pale, but not quite tan, unaware of how perfect it is.

She's decisive: either coolly crisp, or gently warm,

and you enjoy her giggle so much,

you don't mind her change in moods one little bit.

She laughs when she catches us off guard,

and she dares us to try on those jeans we haven't worn all summer.

She begs us to go out and find an orchard,

savor how an apple looks so perfect --

as it hangs on the tree,

pink, crisp, ready to bite into.

She watches as our teeth breaks the skin and smiles when we say "oh, it tastes so good!"

She's a pleasant gal, stirring wonderful foods in her kitchen:

stews, soups, pies,

and on her travels she will sometimes

bring home goodies from the orchards to share and savor.

She gently allows as to how we should check the garden,

dilapidated as it looks,

just to make sure those tomatoes are all canned and on the shelf,

reminding us that we'll be glad when February comes that we worked on it.

She leaves us a treat every now and then,

a warm day, snatched up like the last cinnamon sugar donut:

a warm day that follows the cool night,

and we can hear her softly laughing as she paints the trees:

enjoying all the colors in her palette and using them all,

surprising us with her artistic side,

saying that her cousin October will finish the canvas.

She's got another cousin,

and she knows he will soon visit,

and that he will stay too long.

His personality is dead winter and colorless;

he sweeps the last of her beautifully colored leaves away.

September brings her gifts to us, cheerfully.

She knows her hot-as-salsa relative, August,

wore us out, with all the activity and frantic

last minute vacations.

She serves up a cool day--

and in doing so makes you smile and puts more spring in your step.

She reminds you that it's time you dig the quilts out of the closet,

and add another blanket to the bed,

close the pool.

She replaces aqua water with something just as smooth,

brings out her prized possessions to show off to you...

her pumpkins with their glossy, cool orange skins:

waiting just to watch us smile.

And we enjoy her while she lasts, and are always so glad when she visits again.