October in the Chair

For some, like me, born in October, autumn comes early and stays throughout life. This is the time for rain. For listening to Elliott Smith. For pumpkin soup. For cold feet, a runny nose and headaches. For the smoke of coal and peat fires in the air, and red and brown and yellow leaves rotting in the gutter. For dark mornings and warm beds. For stories of faeries, dwarfs, and trolls. For skulls and spiderwebs and the first testing fingers of frost. For sausages and strong beer. For realising that winter, and death, is coming, after all.