The summer is fading fast
into another glorious season of wisdom,
where I can gaze up at the moon
and feel the sultry breeze on my bare shoulders.
Time to let the snakes shed their skin
and slither away,
out of my sight.
Like the dog days of summer,
sweltering under a cruel sun,
I have lain in waste at your feet,
panting... holding onto a memory
that begs no more,
for it is now lost in oblivion.
Cooler, mellower breezes await me
as I round the next bend,
looking forward to autumn
and the brilliant colors it will usher in;
ah, to play hide and seek with the wind again,
missing you,
but not risking contact,
for I have left my baggage at the door
to follow a temperate moon.

The vivacity of emotion and landscape, and how they dovetail to tell this character's story, are what compelled me about this piece. The lush imagery just stayed with me.
— V. S.