Shorter Days Poem by Paul Reed

Days are growing shorter now
The hay fields lie depleted,
Berries hang richly on the bough
Heady Summer has retreated;

Now waters have a crisp edge
Where lazily flowed the burn,
Silent now the chirruping hedge
Sour the milk in the churn;

Supple bones betray their aches
Under warm blankets thrown,
The low sun bores and rakes
Across grass no longer mown;

Twilight creeps and wraps around
Surly tides crash and swoon,
The brief light to black is bound
Clouds glide across the moon;

Essence of Winter has it’s birth
Restless leaves blow on the gusts
Into the night-gown around the earth
Through which the starlight thrusts.

The long grasses shiver and scrawl
Morning stifles a tired yawn,
Gone the blackbird’s clarion call
Through Autumn’s filter drawn;

The fencelines once upright, now slant
Against their creaking posts to brace,
Shifting their feet to find implant
As winds though their boardings race;

So, shorter days, find your close
Let the night-stars wink goodbye,
As I dream through moonbeam glows
Of the Springtime drawing nigh.