InReview InReview

SA QLD
Support independent journalism

Books & Poetry

Poem: First Equinox

Books & Poetry

The seasons, one into another, inspire this week’s Poet’s Corner contribution from Alana Potgieter.

Print article

First Equinox

It creeps up softly
the autumn equinox:
those first refrigerated morning breaths
that catch in your throat as the backdoor locks
the surrounding noises sounding nearer still
the first taste of approaching winter’s chill

The low ground-hugging early mist
Jack Frost’s Austral cousin starts his shift
steals across the still-brown fields that flank the freeway
then dissolves into forgetfulness with the climbing morning heat,
summer’s defeat is written in the day
soon winter will have its way.

In my rearview mirror rises snow-globe-like
the miasmic white corella flocks
I hear their chorus ha-ha ring in
the awaited changing of the clocks
while the soil unbends its hot-baked hardness
and the diurnal tide stops

That night I raise my glass to toast
the passing of the season we seem to love the most
the setting summer sway
the softening of the light,
I bid farewell to the diminishing day
and embrace the lengthening of the night.

Alana Potgieter is an avid gardener and devoted cat mother who has naturalised to Adelaide from South Africa.

Readers’ original and unpublished poems of up to 40 lines can be emailed, with postal address, to poetscorner@solsticemedia.com.au. Submissions should be in the body of the email, not as attachments. A poetry book will be awarded to each accepted contributor.

 

Make a comment View comment guidelines

Support local arts journalism

Your support will help us continue the important work of InReview in publishing free professional journalism that celebrates, interrogates and amplifies arts and culture in South Australia.

Donate Here

. You are free to republish the text and graphics contained in this article online and in print, on the condition that you follow our republishing guidelines.

You must attribute the author and note prominently that the article was originally published by InReview.  You must also inlude a link to InReview. Please note that images are not generally included in this creative commons licence as in most cases we are not the copyright owner. However, if the image has an InReview photographer credit or is marked as “supplied”, you are free to republish it with the appropriate credits.

We recommend you set the canonical link of this content to https://inreview.com.au/inreview/books-and-poetry/2023/06/07/poem-first-equinox/ to insure that your SEO is not penalised.

Copied to Clipboard

More Books & Poetry stories

Loading next article