Reading Level: Grade 3
Topics: Seasonal Poems
Poetic Techniques: Anthropomorphism & Personification, Assonance, Dialogue, Imagery, Narrative Poems
Word Count: 159

About This Poem

I wrote this poem because, here in the northern hemisphere, summer is almost over and fall will be here in just a few days. But, at least where I live, you wouldn’t necessarily know it from the weather. The days are still sunny and warm, and it still feels a lot like summer, even though I know the cooler autumn weather will be arriving before long.

That got me thinking about what might happen if Summer and Autumn were actual people with jobs to do and schedules to keep. Maybe Summer can’t simply leave whenever he wants. Perhaps he has to wait for Autumn to show up and take over his shift first. And what if Autumn happens to be running a little late?

Of course, when Summer leaves us here in the northern hemisphere, he has somewhere important to go. In places south of the equator, such as Australia, South Africa, and much of South America, the seasons are reversed. Their summer runs roughly from December through March, while we’re having winter. So I imagined Summer getting ready to head south, with people there eagerly waiting for his arrival, while Autumn has reasons of her own for not being quite ready to take his place.

The result is a phone conversation between two very busy seasons trying to sort out their schedules.

If you enjoyed this change-of-seasons poem, here are a few more you might also like:

• Dear Summer
• The Summer’s Nearly Over
• The Leaves Are Falling Off the Trees
• Autumn Is the Time of Year
• A Spring in My Step

Worksheet

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