Summer in September and Other Poems

About the Book

In the summer and early fall of 2015, the warmest September ever recorded in Toronto, a widow and a widower made an unusual connection. Following their meeting for the first time as single people, the pair began visiting each other, either at his place in Toronto or at her place in the Quebec countryside. They also travelled as sightseers to Montreal and to Kingston and attended a wedding at a vacation resort.

Summer in September and Other Poems emerged from that connection, a collection of poetry written from the widower to his friend and including several poems written by her in response. Featuring ten topical sections, these verses recall the poets’ deceased spouses, consider their various travels both together and separately and explore ideas of romance, nature, old age, praise and sleep. Short and compelling, the poems of this collection offer an intriguing view of romance following grief.

Surfacing

Socializing here, alone, was fun,
But I’ve been impatient to have it over and done
And let my undermind, obsessed with you,
Surface at last, lucid, untrammeled and true,
Until it vies with the hillscape I see here
In producing sonic colours, pure and clear.

About the Author

David J. Murray has published eleven books of poetry. Born in 1937 and raised in Manchester, England, he earned a doctorate at the University of Cambridge. Now emeritus professor of psychology at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, and a resident of Toronto, he has published scholarly books, articles and encyclopaedia entries.