Spiderweb Autumn

For awhile I actually believed Summer would never end. The leaves have stayed solidly green, only fraying at their very edges with a fine vein of red. The grass is thick and smells like high Spring when I lay in it. The days have stayed hot and the sky has been blessedly clear of clouds. But sometime last night while we slept Autumn crept in and began to remake our corner of the world. There was a mist on the edge of the park and a fine silver crust clung to the grass, sparkling like dusk's stars. The morning is cool, almost cold, and shows no signs of hurrying into the warmth we've enjoyed for so long. I wore a jacket for the first time on our morning walk and the thin layer of leaves which fell overnight crunched under Duncan's feet as we explored the new season. Autumn has arrived as suddenly and shockingly as the invisible spiderwebs which I pass through under the trees, silently, with a tickle and a tug on my face as they brush my new beard and catch on my neck, things felt and not seen. The day promises to be beautiful but my heart, a Summer heart, is breaking as it begins to hum the old, familiar Autumn songs, "I'll Be Seeing You" and "Autumn Leaves." I'll enjoy it as best I can and take comfort in Duncan's delight in the falling leaves and his dreams of snow, but I won't like it one bit. With one eye on my dog, I am already beginning to look forward to the warmth of Spring's sun.

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