the archives of f/k/a . . .

In 2005, September 22nd marks the autumnal equinox — when Fall begins

and night and day are nearly the same length.  f/k/a is celebrating by

launching an Autumnal Equinox Haiku page, with haiku and senryu from

our Honored Guests and our Editor.

 

Autumn Equinox…
the long whistle
of a northbound train

 

   ed markowski

     haiku harvest (Fall 2005)

 

The good folk at “Universe in Motion” have put together an interesting

page of Autumnal Equinox information and tales.  For example, they

remind us:

What’s going to happen? Not much really, so don’t wait up

until after midnight. It’s a little like an anniversary or a birthday.

While it is just a geometrical alignment, it is one that reminds

us about the passage of time, the motion of the Earth, and the

changing of the seasons. It marks the start of autumn.

 

What’s so special about it?   There are a few special things you

can talk about [at school]. 

 

As summer wears on, the nights have been growing longer and

the days shorter. On this date, the night becomes longer than

the day!  That’s just for us in the Northern Hemisphere. For our

friends in Australia [hi, Sarni!], it’s reversed. Spring has just begun

for them.

A minor point … if you look up the rising and setting time

of the Sun in the newspaper, it’ll look as if the day is still

a bit longer than the night. That’s mostly because “sunset”

and “sunrise” are defined by the top edge of the Sun, not the

middle of it, and the middle of the sun sets (rises) a few

minutes before (after) the edge does.

On this day, the Sun will begin to rise at the South Pole after six

months of darkness. It’s going to be daytime there for the next six

months!  And yes, there are scientists who are living and working

down there now! They have a party to celebrate.

 

On this day, the Sun rises directly in the East, and sets directly in

the West..

 

On this day, the Sun passes straight overhead, at the “zenith” for

people on the equator, like in Kenya or Ecuador. When the Sun

passes straight overhead, there aren’t any shadows! 

 

The equinoxes (there are two — the Vernal Equinox marks the first day

of spring) have a rich place in mythology and ancient traditions. Ancients

believed the gods guided the Sun across the sky, and so they paid

attention to the way that it moved. (of course, we [at least some of us]

now know that what’s really moving is us). They used a variety of tools to

watch that motion.

 

  Autumn holds many treasures and pleasures.   Please take the

time to enjoy them (before Heating Degree Days and cost per therm become

part of our daily vocabulary).

 

 

 

 

Autumn Equinox…
the first car
of a northbound train

 

   ed markowski

 

 

fall’s first sunset –

we head due west

squinting

  

    dagosan  [Sept. 22, 2005]

 

 

end of summer

the rain arrives

without thunder

 

   John Stevenson 

      Upstate Dim Sum  (2003/I)

 

 

 

 

 

 

autumn equinox

a red dragonfly

tilts its wings

 

    Yu Chang

          Upstate Dim Sum  (2001/I) 

 

 

p.s. Paul David Mena has captured a

traditional autumn experience at haikupoet.com.