The arrival of autumn

 The pale yellow sun rises quietly

Across the double-glazed window.

The panes are stained by damp

The frames are screaming for repair –

I hear the radio swimming its sounds

Up from the kitchen through the hall,

A spoon clinks on a cup

The bread jumps hot from the toaster.

 

I remove the quilt,

Nullifying the warm luxury that

Has insulated me through the night –

Stepping from the bed

A slight chill greets me –

Through the window the estate is grey,

And the reddish, brown, salmon hands

Of autumn stroke it –

Its gloves of frost are cold and white,

Its fingers are dark, wet

And lengthen the nights –

Autumn –

A scab across summer,

A scar over the winter –

 

A dead cat lies in the gutter,

Fatally struck by a driver

Who didn’t bother to stop, and

Look at the collar, inform the

Creature’s owners,

It will be a sad supper in one

Household tonight –

The shop’s shutters creak open,

And fluffy ashen marshmallow

Clouds sit lazily on the skyline,

Waiting for a wind to move them

On, in their rain filled destination…