Tuesday, September 5, 2017

September 5: First Day of School, John Ashbery, "Last Month"

The first day of school for my kids.  They rose, complaining about the loss of summer.  My son first pulled the pillow over his head, whined about the early hour.

It's true that this last month of summer came and went like a freight cloud.  Fast and full of baggage.  And now, a new month, new season, new way of living.  It seems like a year ago that we were splashing in swimming pools and drinking gin and tonic.

Saint Marty isn't ready for autumn.  Not just yet.  The leaves must stay green, and the black bears must stay awake.

Last Month

by:  John Ashbery

No changes of support—only
Patches of gray, here where sunlight fell.
The house seems heavier
Now that they have gone away.
In fact it emptied in record time.
When the flat table used to result
A match recedes, slowly, into the night.
The academy of the future is
Opening its doors and willing
The fruitless sunlight streams into domes,
The chairs piled high with books and papers.

The sedate one is this month's skittish one
Confirming the property that,
A timeless value, has changed hands.
And you could have a new automobile
Ping pong set and garage, but the thief
Stole everything like a miracle.
In his book there was a picture of treason only
And in the garden, cries and colors.



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