Seasons Unbegun And Ended

What lingers now is not
summer, but summer’s ghost,
pale and cool instead of hot.
Fog rises on the coast,
but no frost has fallen
and the skies are clear, if pale
and drifted with pollen.
No sign of autumn gales
yet—the season resists
its inevitable turning
toward rain and chilly mist
and smell of wood burning
in stoves. We’re suspended
between seasons unbegun and ended.