What will an autumn girl do in a summer stretched thin,
While red and orange give way to shades of green?
I hope she stays, and paints the autumn colors in.
Some girls are satisfied to let yellow summer win;
Winter girls have run and can scarcely be seen!
What will an autumn girl do, when summer draws in?
Let the sun beat down, with its fearsome hot grin,
While passersby grow desperate, parched and mean!
Watch how she stays, and calls the cool breeze in.
Spring, summer, and winter may be called her kin,
Though how quickly they fade when autumn is queen!
What can an autumn girl do 'til summer grows dim?
Other seasons are far too intemperate for sin,
A well-loved pastime of mine you may try to redeem.
Watch the autumn girl smile, smell her cinnamon skin!
I cannot love those others, too heated, wet, or grim.
And, imagine this world without bright Hallowe'en!
What can an autumn girl do, if summer never gives in,
but watch, dreaming until the equinox rolls again?
For One-Shot Wednesdays, I've decided to work mostly on forms of poetry that are very strict, or that I have trouble writing...since this is a writing exercise blog, after all! The villanelle is a perfect example of challenging poetic form, with strict rhyme and meter, a twisted line scheme, and an insistence upon theme. I sweated hard on this one, and the ending is still a little weak. So I'll be thinking about edits, too!
You may have thought my Twitter handle was a joke, but I am dead serious about autumn. Just ask the Halloween Posse!
So--anyone else up for a Wednesday challenge? Next week...sonnets, I think.
