Travis Stephens
16th of September
September has reached the zenith,
passed the mid-point of completion.
End of summer
end of the growing heat
the end of long days.
In the vineyard they sample
the fruit for sugar and juice.
I imagine a taste of cabernet,
a riddle of chardonnay.
Unnoticed, jackrabbits scatter, quail
dash and vultures soar.
What has lived thus far
will likely continue to.
This is the end to the
brutal extravagance of
random victims;
of numerous hatchlings,
schools of fry,
and helpless young.
From here the winter is
taking hold, testing its grip.
About the writer:
Travis Stephens was raised on a dairy farm. He earned a degree at University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, before departing for the West Coast. A sea captain, he now resides in California. Recent credits include Stoneboat Review, Crosswinds Poetry Journal, Southword, Havik, Apeiron Review, and Pennsylvania English. Online his was a Poem of the Week for Silver Needle Press and poems have appeared in Ink & Voices, Rue Scribe Sheila-Na-Gig, and HCE Review.
Image: Pyramids by Fabien Beuchet. Gouache on paper. 11.7 x 8.3 inches. 2009. By permission.
