"Pondering Labor Day"

Listening to the birds in the field,
feeling the impending heat of the day
trying to break through the cool air
with utmost frustration I ponder
the coming of Labor Day
just a couple of days away
and wonder...
 where did the summer go?

How can it be that
autumn is just around the corner?
I gaze at the trees on the hills
and see they’re beginning to change
from greens to the hues of fall
but they appear to be reluctant
as reluctant as I to have summer
bid its farewell.

It’s too soon for popcorn
in front of the fire,
for putting the blankets
back on all the beds,
for storing away the outdoor furniture,
to think about stews and simmering hearty soups,
for turning back the clocks
and the planting of spring bulbs.

I don’t want to think about Halloween decorations
and Thanksgiving recipes and guest lists.
I’m not ready for Christmas shopping
and decorating. I want Memorial Day and
the Fourth of July all over again with
parades, cotton candy, hamburgers, hot dogs,
and lots more lazy days at the lake.

Autumn will soon lash out
announcing her arrival with a frigid day
and perhaps a seasonal bolt of lighting or two
as bears begin the long sleep and squirrels
their hoard safely stashed scurry underground,
the remaining flowers cower, the dog sulks,
and we'll all be taken by surprise and once again
will ask, where, oh where, did the summer go?

© Marcia Miller-Twiford