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.