It's Still September

a poem for today

Welcome to Pocketful of Prose a community for sharing stories. As always, links are in bold, and there’s an audio of this pocket if that works better for your life. This week, I reminded my students that their stories are gifts. I shared Aisha Badru’s song, “Rooted,” with them.

In this song, Aisha sings, “Your story is your offering, you are here for a reason.” I love this so much. Today, I’m offering you a poem I wrote about my messy, mixed gratitude for September and the end of gardening season. I hope you stick around for some conversation in the comments.

Still September

It is still September for one more day
and what more do you need really

than this

to rise in the dark and watch the sky fill with light
to consider what it would mean to do the same
to throw on a sweater and walk out into the chilly morning
climbing over pumpkin vines
to pick a ripe tomato

to crack the eggs in the sizzling cast iron
while the kettle boils
to take it all with you into the garden
with a cozy throw and a good book

to read not a single word 
save what is written on the blanket flowers

Tomorrow you can worry over the frost 
Today you sip your chai in the warm rising sun and remember how
Penelope, Odysseus' wife, rose each day and wove the most beautiful story in silk
only to unravel it every evening
Talk about a hero's journey

The Tibetan monks make a practice of it
etching a world of intricate beauty
and then brushing it all away
all the while singing over the sand

When the time comes
May you be so brave

I would love to continue this conversation in the comments. What resonates with you today? Does your heart break at the end of certain seasons? Where do find light in the growing darkness?

Here’s the heart to click in case you forgot your reading glasses.