September’s come to its inevitable ending
and the light is bending.
Late afternoon sun puts the moon to shame,
setting leaves aflame,
sparking rosehip, hawthorn and rowan berries—
winter’s emissaries.
Soon russet and gold will turn to muddy brown,
and leaves fall down.
October echoes in a jackdaw murmuration;
for them, no migration.
Twilight seeps through naked branches early.
The moon’s fingernail is pearly.
As the clocks go back the landscape will splinter
in the cruel claw of winter.
Kim M. Russell, 1st October 2026
This Thursday at the dVerse Poets Pub we are exploring a Poetry Form with Grace and breaking up the couplet by trying out some creative and challenging ways to write couplets, which sounds simple enough: two lines that belong together, joined by thought, rhythm, rhyme, or a combination of all three.
And then she asks: What happens when we disturb the bond between a couplet? And gives us three ways to break it.
Our challenge is to choose one of the following:
Broken Couplet — disrupt the expected relationship between the two lines.
Split Couplet — experiment with a longer first line and a shorter second line.
Hinged Couplet — let the second line turn, transform, or change the meaning of the first.
Rhyme and meter are optional—the only rule is to let the two lines change each other.
I chose the split couplet.
I love the way this works with all the autumn imagery and moving all the way to the coming winter darkness… you made this almost to a new form.
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Thanks so much, Björn!
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Moving from September to October season is in stark contrast. Love these contrasting images & direction:
sparking rosehip, hawthorn and rowan berries—
winter’s emissaries.
October echoes in a jackdaw murmuration;
for them, no migration.
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Thank you, Grace!
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Great title and some very nice rhymes Kim – the foreshortening of the second lines act like a commentary. – especially winter’s emissary
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Thank you, Laura!
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Gorgeous imagery, Kim and the transition from September to October captured so beautifully.
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Thank you very much, Punam!
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My pleasure, Kim.
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I loved your mention of “Jackdaw’s murmurations…” as a crow lover I resonated with that. And ofc “winter’s claw” at the end. Sigh. Guess its getting closer…means rain and more rain after that here in the Northwest. Great poem! 💚
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This is simply stunning, Kim. I love all the images and the logic. I especially enjoyed the image of the moons pearly fingernail! 🙂
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“The moon’s fingernail is pearly.”
Awesome line, Bravo
Thanks for dropping by my blog
much love
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I agree with Sunra…your poem is stunning in imagery and rhyme! I think your split couplets broke up agreeably, Kim 🙂
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