Bye, Bye Summer

The familiar rhythm of the cricket's chirps

Create the soundtrack for each day,

Echoing Summer's end

And that Autumn's on her way.

The stifling heat of the summer sun

Is now tempered by the clouds.

Those fluffy, cotton August clouds,

That soft breezes push about.

Shadows falling everywhere

As the sun plays peek-a-boo.

Losing her strength with each new day,

A sure sign that Summer is through.

As the lazy, carefree summer days,

Reluctantly draw to an end.

Excitement grows for what's ahead,

As school days and the Fall begin.

And no matter how the years may pass,

And how old I come to be,

I'll always love this time of year,

As it holds such fond memories

Of sitting with my childhood friends,

Recalling all our fun

While running, swimming and riding bikes

Beneath the summer sun.

And sharing all our hopes and dreams

As the future stirs us on.

Knowing as we sit on that late, August eve,

Summer's ending, but her memory lives on.

But there's also a haunting sadness sometimes

That I feel when those dark shadows fall.

And that my greatest adventures in life

Are just memories, now aroused by those sweet cricket calls.