SEPTEMBER SOLSTICE
In six weeks of no consequence,
night’s long claw swallows
the park bench at four. The dog
digs furious out back for its bone
in a race against being frozen out.
Dusk invites itself earlier this twilight.
Daylight’s quieted, replaced by
a myopic haze which filters the air,
like a drop of black ink
slowly stirred in water.
All that wild’s already been born,
hatched, bloomed, spawned.
The butterfly bush, once a fuchsia fire,
strafed with Monarchs is threadbare.
My clenched grip dragged over a single branch
strips it, finishing the job.
Poet Carol Traynor-Mayer is founder of Words That Burn, a creative writing project which leads free poetry workshops for teens. She believes firmly that teens need to read and write poetry as a way to better understand themselves and the world in which they live. Carol holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Lesley University.