The first crisp days of autumn, give them to me:
a brisk breeze making you finally reach for a jacket.
Give me the adornment of it: deep orange, rich golds,
trees losing their yearly cloaks, the sounds of birds growing more faint.
To hear the tractor start up again, it’s harvest time.
Apples, grapes, potatoes and pumpkins. The foods of the season.
I’ll take all of it, Father of Winter, the days darkening
as the sun is seen for fewer hours and night falls faster than before.
The first morning frosts, causing you to scrape the windshield
of your car, numbing your fingers until they feel nothing at all.
You see the clouds of fog as you speak and feel the twinges
of pain on your reddened and chilled cheeks. You don your
first sweater, gloves, boots, and a scarf for good measure,
sipping your cider as you carry on through the day as normal.
Now there are Friday night football games and the sounds
of the marching band. Everyone stands and cheers.
It is a season of change and togetherness as we step
into the impending ceaseless dark, keeping close to stay warm.
Brittney is a recent graduate of Central Washington University, where she obtained her bachelor’s degree in English: Professional and Creative Writing. She currently lives is Washington State, where she is a substitute teacher.