Welcome back to thebirdonfire.org. On the first day of this 2023-24 school year, I asked 8th graders to read and respond to Emily Dickinson’s “As imperceptibly as grief.” She was mourning the passing of summer in the poem. I asked how the 8th graders felt about summer winding down. Kimberly had not only a full reply, but one in impressive verse. She’s allowed me to share below. — Blog Instructor Zachik
First, Dickinson . . .
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 who would be gone.And thus, without a wing,
— by Emily Dickinson
Or service of a keel,
Our summer made her light escape
Into the beautiful.
Now, Kimberly . . .
As the days drift
With the hot breeze and the summer sun
A feeling of unfamiliarity emerges
A feeling of loss
But as the days continue
And autumn creeps up from behind
The feeling of hope
Leads into comfort and knowing
That everything changes, for better or worse
Seasons change like the changing of mind
A change of clothes and a different pair of shoes
The dog days of summer turn into the black cats of Halloween
Crisp warm days and chilly nights
And waving goodbye somehow does not seem so sad.
— by Kimberly Sayers
