Penumbra Online
Table of Contents
Eternal Fall...Aubriana Ortiz
October Skies...Harvey Keene
Golden Home...Alicia Gutierrez
Night...Kayla Hanson
October is…...Melissa Ruiz
A Place Beneath the Trees...Leah Armstrong
A Farmer’s Hands...Rosepreet Sandhu
Under The Harvest Moon...Alyssa Montgomery
A Eulogy...Zoe Byron
The Season. Your Season. Our Season....Isabella Ramel
Eternal Fall
by Aubriana Ortiz
The leaves that camouflage from your eye
With that color that fades from the sky
Scents of cinnamon and pumpkin fill the air
With that crisp breeze that flows in my hair
It creates a beautiful orange hue
In something I thought I never knew
That sweet autumn decay
I wish would never go away
October Skies
by Harvey Keene
I do not believe in october skies
When the trees all die and the songbird cries
How could I believe in a time so bleak
Children fall dead and lovers never speak
October brings fear, october brings blight
The new birds flying now fly with fright
The october sky hits them fast and so they fall
Losing their way and the point of it all
So fly, fly away from the october death
Before she makes you draw the final breath
If you can escape those october skies
One less time my songbird cries
Golden Home
by Alicia Gutierrez
Up at the crack of light
Slide on my boots
I might just go crazy
As I walk up to the gate
I sigh not bad but a good one
The sound of leaves as the breeze
Of the fall comes in
The beauty that the trees are making
There’s green everywhere
As you look deeper you see some
Other color orange as the orange fades
Into gold
The rabbits go into their holes
Bears are preparing for hibernation
Snakes curl up into the trees
Birds are starting to migrate
It's getting darker later
Coyotes are sneaking up
Leaves are falling down
Hunting season is in full blast
Wood stoves are being ignited
Pellet stoves are being filled
Fall decorations are hanged already
Coffee is being made
Stories are being told
Sweatshirts are being thrown on
Candles that smell like fall
Are being lit
Wax warmers are turned on
All the smells
With the comfy blankets
Is what makes my fall
Night
by Kayla Hanson
You are the Night sky
Your smile so radiant, the stars seem to dim
When you speak owls grow quiet
You are crafted by stardust
I wish to stay at your side
Like the two doves upon the magnolia tree
Dance with you as lightning bugs do
Grow old with you
Finally have someone
To Hold
To Love
To Keep
October is…
by Melissa Ruiz
October.
October.
It’s really something else.
Sure, there’s November and September in the season of fall but they shouldn’t count.
We have October.
October is excitement;
“Omg should we match for Halloween?!”
October brings satisfaction;
“I stepped on the perfect crunchy leaf today.”
October brings relief;
“Finally, out of the triple digit heat!”
October is perfect.
The leaves allow their cozy green blankets to fall and their real colors begin to show.
Pumpkin spice everything is everywhere, and cozy blankets hug you away from the cold.
But the air also brings another type of change.
In school, everyone starts to get comfortable so they start letting themselves go just a bit.
The quiet kid who sat in the back might speak out more now that they know you.
Scorched summer skin begins to fade into a light fall, almost winter-tone.
You don’t see yourself change. Or maybe you do.
The world around you is transitioning from something wonderful to something that’s somehow…
Even more wonderful.
It's only natural for humans to mimic and adapt to their environment.
We sometimes change for the better.
Or the worse.
But change doesn’t have to be all bad or all good..
It doesn’t have to be intimidating.
We’re not alone.
October is going through it with you too.
A Place Beneath the Trees
by Leah Armstrong
I sit beneath the trees
Enveloped in the breeze
Wrapped in nature's embrace
My own reality
My own escape from life
The pull of the pages
The earthy smell of trees
It is a paradise
Euphoric in a way
You may not understand
You may just acquiesce
And leave without a care
And that is fine with me
I am content right here
In my own little world
A place beneath the trees
A Farmer’s Hands
by Rosepreet Sandhu
*Selected as Staff Series Pick
In the Central Valley of California, where autumn paints the land,
A farmer toils with weathered hands, tending to the soil so grand.
As fall arrives, the fields transform, a tapestry of golden hues,
The harvest season now begins, a time of hard work and fruitful views.
Rows of crops, like nature’s art, stretch out as far as eyes can see,
The scent of earth and ripened fruit fills the air so sweet and free.
The farmer’s hands, weathered and strong, work with purpose and care,
Planting seeds of hope and dreams, nurturing life with love to share.
So let us celebrate the fall, in this land of abundance and grace,
Where farming and autumn intertwine, creating a harmonious embrace.
In the Central Valley of California, where seasons come and go,
We find beauty in the cycle of life, as nature’s rhythms gently flow.
Under The Harvest Moon
by Alyssa Montgomery
Under the Harvest moon
A banshee wails in the dead of night
A phoenix burns oh so bright
Mermaids sing and call to friends
Minotaurs play and battle men
The Fae play tiny and out of sight
Griffins fly majestic and high
Onis are hungry and cannot wait
Gorgons tidy their face and snakes
Centaurs ride graceful and strong
Fauns strum a beautiful song
Ogres thump each step a tune
Lycanthropes howl at the moon
The unicorns decorate and the dragon's call
The feast has begun for one and for all
Grudges erased and friendships mend
The mythological feast has began
A Eulogy
by Zoe Byron
Do not worry
when I fall
down from the
trees to sprawl
upon the sidewalk
all broken and
scattered.
I am a leaf.
This is what
I am meant to do.
Do not be shocked
when my vibrancy
turns to a dust-colored
hue that only
a sodden slab of
cement could cherish.
And when I die,
remember that I
got through four whole seasons
and am now feeding
my fellow creatures
with the nutrients
that I absorbed
while growing,
flying, and falling.
I am a leaf.
I could not
dare to ask
for any other
fate.
The Season. Your Season. Our Season.
By Isabella Ramel
The season of autumn.
The season of giving.
The season of ghosts, witches, and monsters.
The season of reliving.
As the leaves start to fall,
I do the same.
As they begin to change colors.
The spark between us begins to light aflame.
While bears get ready for hibernation.
I do the opposite.
Trying to solve this stupid, recurring, love equation
My thoughts keep me awake, I’m consumed by it.
The birds begin to migrate South.
Going back to where they know.
I do the same going back to who I've known.
Where I begin to look for your name,
when I get a notification on my phone.
Your season of love.
Your season where you make me impressed.
Your season of achievements, awards, and A pluses.
Your season where I’m convinced you’re the one, among the rest.
The smell of pumpkin lattes fills the air
And Halloween begins to come near.
I wonder if this is a trick-or-a-treat
Is this a game you are playing,
Or are you truly being sweet?
I begin to notice the little things.
Like the way you change your style,
Or the way you wear your hair,
Or the way your expression changes when you start to care.
As autumn continues,
We become closer,
Looking for warmth in this chilly weather.
Rekindling the fire, that was there,
That we once both desired.
Our season of confusion.
Our season of subliminals.
Our season where you and me, become us,
And we are no longer separate individuals.
We’ve been through this twice
I’ve seen it all before
Where we are both entranced by lust
But then you suddenly shut me out and slam the door.
Is the third time really the charm?
This time will you keep me close, hold me tight,
And not let me leave the grasp of your arms?
I’ll fall.
You’ll fall.
It’s a recurring cycle.
Yet, we’ll continue to be in denial,
Until it begins and ends once again.
Fall.
The season.
Your season.
Our season.