ON HANGING CLOTHES OUTSIDE
October 4th
On what may be our last day
for drying clothes outside,
soft sun and warm wind
bring April mornings to mind—
harbingers of perfect days in May—
except that today fall colors
rapidly replace summer’s green
and April is more optimistic,
skipping as it does towards summer.
We are grateful, of course,
for gentle autumn mornings
but also wary and watchful,
mindful of the winter months
which surely now will follow.
Joseph Neely, 2026
I have been compiling month-by-month poems of Michigan (or places with a similar climate). Previously published poems of September can be viewed here, and additional poems of October here.
We have been on the Bruce Peninsula in Canada for a few days . . . it’s been wonderful to get away from the madness now gripping the United States, if only for a few days. The mid-term elections can’t come soon enough.
I located my great-great-grandfather’s grave in Kincardine, Ontario. I had to do a rubbing with paper and a crayon to make out the following text:
IN MEMORY OF
DAVID SMALL
DIED DEC. 12* 1892
AGE 71 YEARS
NATIVE OF
BELLANAHINCH**
IRELAND
* 12 is uncertain, text difficult to read
** erroneous spelling, David Small was from Ballynahinch in County Down, Ireland
Subscribe to be notified of new posts. There is no cost and your information will never be sold or shared.
And please . . . share this blog with a friend !
Joseph Neely, all rights reserved.
