by Augustus Edwin Mulready
As imperceptibly as Grief
The Summer lapsed away —
Too imperceptible at last
To seem like Perfidy —
A Quietness distilled
As Twilight long begun,
Or Nature spending with herself
Sequestered Afternoon —
The Dusk drew earlier in —
The Morning foreign shone —
A courteous, yet harrowing Grace,
As Guest, that would be gone —
And thus, without a Wing
Or service of a Keel
Our Summer made her light escape
Into the Beautiful —
~ Emily Dickinson
(The Poems of Emily Dickinson, #935)
“And thus, without a Wing
Or service of a Keel
Our Summer made her light escape
Into the Beautiful —” I love thinking that we also, then, are journeying into the beautiful ♥
It is a lovely thought, escaping lightly into the beautiful… 💙
Summer is still hanging on here, though we’re expecting a cool front soon. I happen to love Autumn, so I’m looking forward to the change in weather. Emily always has a way of expressing things, doesn’t she?
Oh yes, dear Emily had a very special way with words. My impression from reading her poems is that summer was definitely her favorite season but I’m with you in loving the autumn season best. Cool, crisp, fresh air!
Another great pairing of photo and verse Barbara. I am ready for Fall (and have been for quite a while). We are enjoying a respite from the heat for a few days and some rain and a storm on Saturday afternoon only to mar the holiday weekend. I’m sorry the dregs of Ida are going to set you up for some rain however. Hope it doesn’t linger too long.
Thank you, Linda! 🙂 We got 5 inches of rain from the remnants of Hurricane Ida. Some places nearby got 8 inches. Lots of rivers and brooks flooding. But New York City and New Jersey are much worse off. My favorite weatherman says this system broke up the hot, humid weather pattern and we are going to be getting our weather from the north, from Canada now. Dry, cool, air — yay!!! Welcome autumn!
Wow – five inches of rain. That is a lot of rain – I hope your pump stations worked properly. That was the reason for the malfunction in Detroit with the severely flooded expressways. We just had another four inches of torrential rain last Friday and once again one of the expressways flooded. The pictures I saw in NYC and New Jersey were just incredible to me. Oh yay – no more humidity. We’ve had two pleasant days and only one rainstorm to mar the entire upcoming long weekend. So, that is very good news for both of us to enjoy our long walks and yes indeed “Welcome autumn!”
Fortunately our local storm drains were able to handle the deluge and we had no water in our basement, although we never have had water down there. But other places in Connecticut had flash flooding in the streets and most of the streams and rivers were well above flood stage. Sadly, a state trooper on duty was swept away in his cruiser by a flash flood. All our flags are flying at half mast. We went for a very nice walk in the fresh air in the woods yesterday. I was practically dancing with joy!
You were lucky Barbara – we had bad flooding in the basement in 1969. My father and I were in Germany – he took me with him as he’d not been back since he left in 1950. My grandmother was staying with my mom and the basement flooded the first or second day after we left. They had a huge mess. I heard the story on the CBS radio national news where another state trooper (I believe) was giving the account of that trooper being swept away in his cruiser. He was all choked up as he relayed the story. Yes, the air sans humidity and no intense heat is just perfect. Our heat returns tomorrow, more on Tuesday with chance for severe weather and the words “tornadic conditions” being bandied about. Sigh.
That must have been a nightmare for your mother and grandmother… The idea of flooding basements is very unsettling… Thinking of those people who drowned in their basement apartments in New York City during the remnants of Ida… Moving water is so powerful and the trooper’s story very frightening. He actually radioed for help as he was being swept away. Then they lost contact. The medical examiner said the cause of death was blunt force trauma to his chest. So sad…
A wonderful and meditative salute to the beauty of summer and the flow of seasons, Barbara. Really like the painting too.
Thank you, Jet. Sometimes summer does seem to slip away imperceptibly, giving us a chance to savor its last lingering moments.