Autumn is upon us and with it the solemn reminder that the fast flowing current of time is irrepressible and relentless. Another year has passed and every moment stands to represent a lost opportunity whilst also being another invariable step closer to oblivion. Here is a poem about the stark changes of autumn when contrasted with the persistence of time. The title comes from the Celtic belief that the year has a light half and a dark half. The dark half starts from around November, initiated with the festival of Samhain, widely believed to be the antecedent of Hallowe’en.
The pre-eminence of its majesty unseen
Engulfed in eddying zephyrs brisk and clean
Auburn depths loom amidst beryl and pea
A low slung sun flares through thin intricacy
Unyielding and severe in the shimmering glare
Belonging to nothing and reaching to nowhere
Time lurches ever advancing on mountainous limbs
A sea of feigned permanence in which all must swim
The burdensome anchor with which these things begun
The cloak of twilight closes fast and already it is done
The "artistic endeavours" of J. S. Gordon. 