The trees are full and green
The garden lush and sweet
The warm sun belies October
To truth I must surrender
The hours, they are numbered
The last days of summer
Her sundress, yellow and white
A flower in her hair
Lovely a sight
As ever I’ve seen
How does she stand, taller than me?
I can’t help but wonder
In these last days of summer
Thinking the unthinkable
Chased down with black coffee
Thoughts that never crossed my mind
When I was thirty-three
Too busy being me
A ship once unsinkable
Is foundering in the deep
A boy once prayed
His soul to keep
Would settle now
For a good night’s sleep
My father warned of the waning years
What every man goes through
I thought him meek and fraught with fears
To see his tragic point of view
Is a sad cliché
Since he’s passed away
He’s more present to me
Looking past my prime
Waging war on Father Time
I think, Dad, I finally see
Strange that my eyes
Should gain more sight
As the days begin to lose their light
Winter looms now on my horizon
Look at me in my summer wear
Completely unprepared
We wrestle in the grass
He’s grown so tall, so fast
I struggle to get the better of him
Just how much I truly love him
This I’ve discovered
In these last days of summer
Just how much I truly love them
These last days of summer
Original pastel: The Last Days of Summer, Clay Elliott 2020
