Nodding heavy damp hydrangea heads hang low

Mauve and brown

And snapdragon flowers moulder in the flower beds.

Grasses seed at the lawns edge.

Summer is soon leaving.

In the town, bedraggled bunting hangs listless.

Carnival time, and posters flap.

Swallows gather on phone wires

Planning their departure.

Another summer gone.

A voice inside me wants to make the swallows stay.

Without their loss, the summer wouldn’t end.

But that’s against all nature.

In my heart I know

That every summer has to fade and die.

But it’s another summer that you didn’t see.

And every year at swallow leaving time

I watch them go and I still feel alone.

And long for spring

And for the swallows safe return.