Summer's End At South Bristol, Maine Poem by Rob Dyer

The summer campers pass the gate
like riotous leaves driven by October winds.
It is time for man to leave the bay.
On gravel drives steel-belted radials
crunch and scatter hasty partings.
From open windows children shout
good-byes to summer homes.
Their year begins.

The white cottage, shutters down,
begins to blend among the trees.
The dark pond grows still
where toddlers splashed just now.
Here now beneath the evergreen
the night heron stands watch alone.
His year begins.