Stuff & Nonsense by Celeste Parsons: JESTER, A Poem of Autumn

 

In spite of the drought, we have been luxuriating in perfect autumn weather, like a parade to mark the end of summer.

JESTER

Autumn arrives in pomp and pride,
Banners abroad on the countryside.
Autumn demands, percussion and brass--
"Out of your buildings to watch me pass!"

Autumn capers lively and lean,
Frolic cymbolic and trumpetine.
Autumn leaps with elastic joints;
Autumn speaks exclamation points.

Autumn's attire is gaudy and bright--
Flaunted brilliance of jewels by night,
Flamboyant patchwork color by day,
Parading in motley, mad display--

A final flourish across the hill,
And the world left behind is grey and still.

(c) Celeste Parsons, 1993

Celeste Parsons lives in a log house built on a former dairy farm with her husband Jim, her Westie dog, Spook, and a revolving population of deer, turkeys, chipmunks, hummingbirds, and other wildlife. She has written poems, plays, technical documentation, and newspaper articles since childhood, and is the editor of Nelsonville from A to Z. Her first children's book, Wait Until I Grow Up!, released in 2021. Celeste is the also the author of Two on Two Wheels: Adventuring on a Bicycle, released in 2024.