Twilight Gathering
Click here to see original essay in Tuscaloosa Magazine, Fall 2006
The late August sun slants across the dog-trot’s worn floors at NorthRiver Yacht Club, painting drab browns with splashes of summer gold. The season is fading quickly — too quickly — sliding into autumn’s embrace with barely a whisper.
Gone are the sticky, sultry-slick days of white-hot heat. Even the martins can feel it as they wait in the gathering dusk, cock their heads toward the wind and listen for the call. A cool breeze sends them spinning on their perch and they struggle a moment then give way to flight — glorious flight — black dots in the star-heavy sky.
As they wend their way south, south, and south farther still, the land turns to burnished copper, resplendent with tobacco skies. Plaid blankets — sage and deep umber — replace crisp white linens; spicy warm cider supplants cold sweet tea.
Summer is a memory and autumn is afoot. Let the feathering of the nest begin.
Tagged as Alabama, personal essays, published, Tuscaloosa Magazine + Categorized as Essays