Autumn (2010)

Another autumn rests upon the land,
Quiet and slumberous, ripe and out of time,
The summer a memory, the sun that used to climb
Now southward sinks again, its old command.
For thirty years I’ve known the seasons’ grand
And brilliant goodbye, the final chime
Of life, which turns so quickly from its prime,
Submitting to the laws that none withstand.

I walk this day with you, three autumns less,
You in the hot July of beauty’s pride
And I in August prime.  Of happiness
And future things: of children, wonder-eyed,
And autumn age, I think but don’t express.
For I wonder if you’ll still be at my side.

Canada Day (2010)

Where have the great ones gone, the proud display
Along the dimming hall of history?
They forged a nation true and strong and free,
And dreamt of us and lived for our own day.
But from our thoughts the great have gone away,
We lose them as we lose our memory,
And glory in the opulence we see,
No longer knowing how we came this way.
No, no, the great no longer catch the eye,
Instead the parties vie for thoughtless power,
Their leaders peddle policies and try
To win us with the baubles of the hour.
But some remember and sense the greats’ disgust
At how these little men betray their trust.