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,
  Or service of a keel,
  Our summer made her light escape
  Into the beautiful.

— by Emily Dickinson

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