Friday, September 16, 2011

New Poem Discovery

October

 

By Bill Berkson b. 1939 Bill Berkson
 
I
 
It’s odd to have a separate month. It
escapes the year, it is not only cold, it is warm
and loving like a death grip on a willing knee. The
Indians have a name for it, they call it:
“Summer!” The tepees shake in the blast like roosters
at dawn. Everything is special to them,
the colorful ones.
 
 
II
 
Somehow the housewife does not seem gentle.
Is she angry because her husband likes October?
Is it snow bleeds softly from her shoes?
The nest eggs have captured her,
but April rises from her bed.
 
 
III
 
“The beggars are upon us!” cried Chester.
 
Three strangers appeared at the door, demanding ribbons.
 
The October wind . . . nests
 
 
IV
 
Why do I think October is beautiful?
It is not, is not beautiful.
                                                  But then
what is there to hold one’s interest
between the various drifts of a day’s
work, but to search out the differences
                                          the window and grate—
but it is not, is not
beautiful.
 
 
V
 
I think your face is beautiful, the way it is
close to my face, and I think you are the real
October with your transparence and the stone
of your words as they pass, as I do not hear them.

I love this poem because October is my favorite month. The beautiful leaves fill my open window's view and the soft cries of the birds as they fly away surround my ears. I hate to think about the upcoming winter and how soon the leaves will be gone and snow will replace the wonderful world I had come to know and love. The cold will intrude and wash the beauty away until we forget what it once was.

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