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Robert Lindner
From a cold day in June
To a hot one in July, with rites of passage
To a cool day in August with memories of fall
Summer is ending and gives me a song to hum.
On A Cool Day in August
“The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they called 'gitche gumee'
The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead
When the skies of November turn gloomy”
“The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” By Gordon Lightfoot
It’s a cool day in August and reminds
Me that fall is coming. But it’s always
Come before. Still, this August morning finds
Me walking, imagining the cool days
To come and the cold days that will follow
In waves like those at the lake that come in
Like ocean surf this morning and swallow
The beach. They ride the north wind and begin
To resemble the waves that come before
Winter ends the fall. That’s three months away
But the waves will come and crash with a roar.
In gales of November, their song will play
“The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.” Still
Today, it’s August and though the song comes
To mind with the feel of fall and there will
Still be some hot days to come, my brain hums
“When the skies of November turn gloomy.”
But I’m here on the Lake Michigan shore.
Not at the lake they call 'gitche gumee,'
And it’s still just late August waiting for
September to bring the equinox when
The earth’s axial tilt causes the sun
To begin facing to the south again.
Then the north gets cold. It’s not just begun,
It’s ongoing and creates the seasons
That have taken me through my time on earth
Through my existence and all its reasons
For love and joy, beginning with my birth
And passing through my youth to find my way
Through many winters, springs, summers and falls
To an age when memories become all
That is left of some whose now distant calls
I can only hear in dreams. But now fall
Is in the air, as August is drifting
Toward September. It’s still summertime,
But it’s cool, so thoughts of fall are something
On my mind. Though the sun will turn warm, I’m
Still singing along with my memory
“The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they called 'gitche gumee'”
Which takes my mind north to another town
Where the fall will come earlier than here,
Where the winters are too cold and too long,
Where there’s Longfellow’s poem in my ear
“By the shores of 'gitche gumee.” The song
Of Hiawatha begins to unfold.
All this from a cool day in late August
That brings memories of winters so cold
That hairs of my nose and my toes froze just
As soon as I walked out the door. For now
I’m warm, and although it is cool, I will
Enjoy the long walks the cool days allow
Since I know there are hot days that are still
To come. September will always have some.
And in October there may be a few,
But by November warm days rarely come.
But it’s still August, so I’m lucky to
Be able to take the walk that I like
To take. But it’s cool today, though it’s still
August, and the waves still roar as they strike
The shore. And the gales of November will
Return, “When the skies of November turn
Gloomy.” When the earth has turned through the days,
Weeks and months, since not till then will I learn
The future. Though fall and winter always
Come, and are in my memory, I’ll not
Spend my August and September waiting
For them. This August day is what I’ve got,
This cool day that is anticipating
Fall is pleasantly cool and I’m pleased to
Resume my walk. Perhaps you will join me
And we can talk about what we will do
Today and tomorrow. A memory
Of yesterday may also become our
Conversation, as we walk together
Asking, “What is the name of that flower?”
Commenting on the cool August weather
And remembering times past that were hot
Or cold. There are more memories as one
Gets old. But today we’re here, when it’s not
Too hot or cold. Cool breeze and August sun,
A hint of fall on a late summer day.
At the lake, the waves swallow up the shore,
As the north wind blows all the clouds away,
And the sky is all blue and I wait for
You to join me in my memories of
The seasons before and in future’s caught
In the unknown seas and the stars above
Where “The legend lives on” as song and thought.
Robert
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