The long days of a blessed summer
Are now shortened
The shadows of trees are longer
and the cool winds of autumn
Tan the bending barley.

Orchards lie heavy in fruits
Ripened and sweet
Their juices succulent
Like the wine of earth.

The long darkness is just a moment away
A time when those alone
Will read their solitary books
Beside a fire that warms only one
And leave a single trail of pathways
In the dry blowing leaves.