These endless days of summer are coming to an end.
Feeling of excitement fills me up to the core - new season,
my favourite season is almost here at my doorstep.
To me summer ends here - in the first days of September.
When I think September, I think autumn, the fading of the day,
first golden leaves and last seasonal harvest.
Cool air in the morning chills my skin, not too hot,
but not yet cold enough to leave my body shivering.
Awakened from a hazy summer slumber
nature is yet again busy preparing for winter.
I am truly so excited to see autumn come at full swing.
When the hot and hazy summer overwhelms you,
remember that after summer autumn inevitably comes.
What you’ve sown will become your harvest.
Today I’m saying goodbye to this season.
The last goodbye before welcoming my dear, moody, golden days of autumn.
I think usually we put very high expectations on summer.
Perhaps that’s one of the reasons why I never liked it so much,
always preferring calmer and cooler days.
There are many social expectations when it comes to summer,
many activities we want to fill our days with,
and when these are not fulfilled, we might end up feeling like this season has been wasted.
Not enough wild swims, or bbq parties, or travels, hikes and social gatherings.
I feel like summer is that extroverted friend you love,
but get overwhelmed with its flamboyance quite easily.
Autumn, on the other hand is an introvert.
The quiet friend you enjoy being silent with.
There’s no need to talk, or to be loud or overly communicative.
At the same time it’s not simple, or boring,
it’s full of quiet beauty you need to really look to see.
And yet I too didn’t get to do everything I wanted this past season.
I mentioned too many times how strange and melancholic its been,
how much unexpected change both within and out I went through.
I try to find the reason why my summer to do list hasn’t been ticked off fully,
consecutively for many years now.
As the daylight fades I reflect on life and try to find faults and explanations.
It’s a strange tendency, wanting to explain everything, every event,
find the cause to each effect, not understanding that
sometimes there is no need for explanation.
Like smoke that grows and dissipates,
life always finds its course and direction regardless of our desire to control it.
We can only take new steps and plant new ideas -
the harvest season will inevitably come.
Sometimes it brings an abundance of crops, and other times,
when earth is tired and burnt, the fruit will be minimal, but cherished as dearly.
You don’t shame the earth for a small harvest,
you help it grow full and abundant in the next season instead.
No matter how tempting it is to run, to go at full speed trying to catch up
with the fleeting nature of life,
I now choose to spend time slowly and intently.
The few fruits I’ve been able to harvest, their sweetness will linger on my tongue.
The tart but sweet flavour of an apple I picked from a tree in the orchard
will stay in my memory until it disappears, replaced by the new one.
I document each moment knowing that only there I’ll stay just how I am right now.
These images will remain unchanged forever,
as reality pushes me to take yet another step.
They carry memory of the present moment
which I will probably forget when the new moment comes.
The scent of apples, honey and cinnamon fills the room.
I remember the ending of my favourite poem: “the ripeness of an apple is its downfall”.
And from that new life’s season forms its new beginning.