‘You ask me what I did today.
I could pretend and say,
“I don’t remember.”
But, no, I’ll tell you what I did today —
I stored September.
Sat in the sun and let the sun sink in,
Let all the warmth of it caress my skin.
When winter comes, my skin will still remember
The day I stored September.
And then my eyes —
I filled them with the deepest, bluest skies
And all the traceries of wasps and butterflies.
When winter comes, my eyes will still remember
The day they stored September.
And there was cricket song to fill my ears!
And the taste of grapes
And the deep purple of them!
And asters, like small clumps of sky…
You know how much I love them.
That’s what I did today
And I know why.
Just simply for the love of it,
I stored September.”*
*–Elizabeth Rooney
http://www.brighamfarm.com/september.html
Sometimes a poem captures just what you would like to have penned yourself. This one’s like that. I have spent some sweet days this month ‘storing September’ for safe-keeping. Good thing, because finally, after a beautiful extension of summer the rains have returned. A delight to gather our little harvest in and see what has grown this year. Our little apple, pear and plum trees are at last yielding a little harvest! The flower above is a new-comer to my garden, just now in bloom. If you know its name, please let me know. I love it!
–LS
