Now blue October, smoky in the sun

Must end the long, sweet summer of the heart.

Lake Whitman near Mt. Rainier last weekend.

Now blue October, smoky in the sun,
Must end the long, sweet summer of the heart.
The last brief visit of the birds is done;
They sing the autumn songs before they part.

A rest area on I-5 in Western Washington State as October begins…

Listen, how lovely - there’s the thrush we heard
When June was small with roses, and the bending
Blossom of branches covered nest and bird,
Singing the summer in, summer unending-

Between two worlds at Lake Whitman…

Give me your hand once more before the night,
See how the meadows darken with the frost,
How fades the green that was the summer’s light.
Beauty is only altered, never lost,

These beauties altered into apple cider…

And love, before the cold November rain,
Will make its summer in the heart again.

Sister Cheryl Long on the Enumclaw River, Oct. 26,2013

One of my favorite poems, a sonnet by Robert Nathan (1894-1985)