Passing the “Hope & Autumn” sign on my walk, I felt the season’s promise falter in the dry air.
Hope and Autumn
We are leaning against the barren trees
with only dry grass below our knees,
Summer’s gasping ground cracks
still zig-zag across the track.
Autumn’s relieving rains did not eventuate
and Winter’s ominiously waiting at the gate
Hopefully, before the coldness begins,
nature will forgive us for our sins.
“Where stories wait for rain, even here, among the books and dry leaves, the morning held its breath.”
Ivor Steven © April 2026
