Equinox: Autumn

As the year turns and we move from the heat of summer

to the cool quiet of autumn I breathe deep and center.

I always mourn the loss of daylight as twilight comes earlier.

No longer slow summer after supper. Evening comes sooner and sooner.

But the bluest blue sky

and a crisp clearness in the air are our rewards

at this turning of the year.

Energy withdraws from the leaves, from the summer blooms

and from my exuberant urge to luxuriate in the summer sun.

When I accept this change and embrace the inward call I find a refreshing coolness waiting for me there.

I welcome this Autumn, heralded by the equinox, just before the scales tip toward the dark of the year.

The year will turn again as it always does

and winter’s cold and dark will arrive in its time.

But for now, as the warm light

and air of summer become a memory I breath the fresh air

and let my eyes rest in that bluest blue.

Andrea Coates Vinson

September 19, 2020