We stood at the edge
gazing into indigo space
The moon – a pale crescent, floated above.
We stood at the edge
on a thin sliver of land
that juts into the lake,
straddling north and south,
summer and autumn,
earth and sky.
Kids pinching their noses shut,
jumping into blue water,
swimming holes already a memory.
We stood at the edge
looking across the velvet deep.
A fish breached the surface,
sending out ripples in concentric rings.
We bid farewell to summer,
surrendering August.
September –
warm sunny afternoons and chilly evenings,
blood red sumac leaves,
mornings laden with soaking dew,
fog banks on the harbor,
migrating flocks on the wing …
We stood at the edge
heaven above, earth below,
we bid farewell to summer,
surrendering August.
Your Own Back Yard - Michael Gillan Maxwell 