Christopher Foss
Christopher Foss, educated at Columbia College, where his poet teacher/mentors were Kenneth Koch and David Shapiro, plies his trade as a consultant and strategist in the sustainability sector, working with companies to improve their environmental and human rights performance. His poetry has appeared in This New England Journal and Walkabout Jones among others. He is currently working on a book-length collection of his poems. He lives in New York City.
September
An early frost hadn't dawned on us--
so many running jumps, loop-the-loops and hurrahs;
so what if they were false starts. In any event,
the word is: time to move on.
As a joke, warm June's expectations left us
cold and naked. We had no idea
that desire could so disrupt our nights. In the end,
the playing simply stops. September's birdsong
turns churlish, an underground anthem.
Yellow school buses invade the gray boulevards,
honking. At a crossing, a child looking startled
hopes to keep pace with the passing throng.