September

It was the first day of the month
and already the air had lost
its lover’s touch
and turned into a nagging tongue
that drove us homeward, blagged
by spiteful wind and mugging rain.

We stopped at the corner shop
and traded platitudes
with boys from Anatolia
who dreamed of going back
to arid plains but they
had turnover to consider.

This England! they said
and as we struggled on
the skies gushed down
filled drains
with ambiguous leaves
half green half brown.