SEPTEMBER (SETEMBRO), a poem by Sonja N. Bohm

Will it always be September—

the month of unspeakable longing?

That space between bank and boat,

the vast and impassable moat,

says yes.

But the birds sing—

they sing from birth,

and discover they have wings.

Across that divide, they fly.

They say no—

September will not last;—

only what is in the heart.

So that which only seems,

gives way to dreams,

and says, “Perhaps!”

Photo taken at Praia das Avencas (Avencas Beach) in Parede, Portugal on 7 September 2019. Copyright © by Sonja N. Bohm

"September" ("Setembro") Copyright © 2025 by Sonja N. Bohm. All rights reserved. First published in Pobre Ícaro (Poor Icarus): Bilingual Poems in Portuguese and English (2025).