This year, the first day of fall (or maybe it was the last day of summer) brought this old poem to mind.
THE NATURE OF THINGS
Ah! I can smell that it's the first day of fall
And rejoice in the knowledge that this year is dying,
And that by some miracle a new one will be born,
Shaped by the Grand Nothing--
The unifier of our universe and time--
Outside of time.
But not me.
I rent out my time to others during these years,
And I like these days between leases when I have myself
To enjoy the changing of the seasons and the dying of the year.