The Falling of the Year
Autumn. sweet sad quiet. evoking memories
Captured sunlight falls to earth in
leaf-shapes
Summer sheds her clothes for sleep
A season’s bounty cached in earthern mounds
in shelved glass, in zero cold
We copy creatures of the saving-kind
Leaf-smoke echoes elder days when fragrant
hearthfires warmed away the chill
of cooling winds
Crackling dryness permeates the air,
the walkways
the little catching-places where breezes send
withering pieces of fallen beauty
Grownsize feet kick in temptation
at heaps of tree debris
Listen. hear the remembered joy
— Martha Whitaker-McGill
Marty Whitaker-McGill is a retired University of Illinois at Springfield
staff employee. Her work has appeared in The Alchemist Review, a journal
of creative writing published by the English Department at UIS.
People’s Poetry accepts poems on any subject, but ones that deal with issues
of local interest are encouraged. Send yours to Books and Poetry Editor Corrine
Frisch c/o Illinois Times, P.O. Box 5256, Springfield, IL 62705, or to
cfrisch@illinoistimes.com with
“People’s Poetry” in the subject line.
This article appears in Oct 28 – Nov 3, 2004.
