Something in the Air

I can feel it. There
is something in the air,
a change in temperature,
in the breeze
and the trees,
that tells me summer
will soon be donning
its mourning cloak,
while I celebrate,
a fiery skipper,
the autumn leaf
with its lustrous copper.
I’ll write a sonnet on a rusty-tipped page
before making my autumn pilgrimage.

Kim M. Russell, 4th August 2026

Merril is our host for Poetics this Tuesday at the dVerse Poets Pub, where we are taking our inspiration from butterflies.

She has shared a poem by Emily Dickinson: ‘Two Butterflies went out at Noon’, which led to her composing a list of common butterfly names, from which Merril would like us to choose at least three to include in our poems, making sure to use the entire name. There is no specific form for this prompt, and the poem does not have to be about butterflies. I chose Mourning Cloak, Fiery Skipper, Autumn Leaf, Lustrous Copper and Rusty-tipped Page.

23 thoughts on “Something in the Air”

  2. Nicely done, Kim. I especially like the turn,

    “while I celebrate,
    a fiery skipper,
    the autumn leaf
    with its lustrous copper”

    It’s quite hot here, and we’re supposed to be back to humid and thunderstormy, so it still feels like summer here–except, the sunrise is getting later, and the sunset earlier.

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    1. I would quite like to be a fiery skipper, but my skipping days are over since the challenge – my feet and ankles suffered.

      We had a misty dawn, but the temperature soon rose. By the time I came out of aqua aerobics, it was very hot.

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  3. The weather imagery lends itself fantastically to butterflies in this poem, Kim! Masterfully done. We may finally reach the cursed 3 digits here in Oregon for the first time this week with a predicted high of 99 tomorrow. I can’t complain though its been a very mild summer here with most days in the low 80’s and late 70’s. Always a pleasure to see what poem you come up with! Exquisitely evoked 🦋🩵🦋

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    1. Thank you so much, Cara! I can’t imagine the kind of heat you’re expecting. We had mist this morning, but it soon got very hot for this area. A sprinkle of rain would be welcome.

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  9. aye this is a time of year innit? in previous years i’d be off to pennsic for a week or two. it was basically a hard stop/last hurrah for summer. you captured that mood well

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