September Equinox Appreciation by Victor D. '27
A Cambridge Autumn
Two years ago in freshman year (:O so long ago), I wrote this poem. I had just moved to Cambridge not even 3 months before, and was adjusting to a place radically different from home. In these first few months, I spent a lot of time walking and riding my bike, exploring Cambridge and Greater Boston. I don’t think much has changed about how amazing fall is to me and I’m looking forward to experience it all over again! This post commemorates the Autumn Equinox (which will occur almost exactly when this blog is posted on Monday, September 22nd, 2025 at 2:19 PM Eastern Time).
A Cambridge Autumn
Red, orange, yellow
Red, orange, yellow
Once green, now illuminate like fire.
The forest transcends mere vegetation
And becomes a sea of lava.
The wind howls and whispers throughout the night
Its haunting song implores me: “Look up from your desk!
And out the window to the buildings across the field
that glow and gleam like galaxies.”
The stars of night are barely visible; city light trumps their radiance
The buildings appear twice: once in substance, once in mirror
The glassy surface of the river reflects a portal to another world
A fabled cosmos brews in the water.
Several nights now, I have gone to sleep with a gentle tap on my window
As the rain downpours and downpours and downpours
And the streets begin turning into channels.
Which makes for a fun game on my bike, as I dash between puddles.
Other times I’ve found myself caught in the rain
Which unfortunately doesn’t understand boundaries
But nevertheless I relish feeling it’s cool and gentle touch on my skin
As much as I detest when it drenches my socks and shoes.
Sometimes I stroll through the neighborhoods
Beautiful New England Homes, a hodgepodge of color and character
Some homes are amber, others cyan, or even a rich mahogany.
Their chromatic dance with the autumnal trees rivals the Impressionist Greats.
Thus, I once rode my bike to the Square.
And decided to walk the rest of the way,
to see the homes and streets lined in the oceans of Fall.
Pigeons cooed, winds gushed, but together harmonized a gentle symphony.
Porchsitters too waved gleefully, and I smiled and gestured back.
Some say the Heavens weep when it rains:
“Why did you walk here?”
“Because the neighborhoods here are really pretty!”
“But the weather is so bad today!”
“What do you mean?”
“Because there’s no sun; the sky is gray. It was raining”
Because it was gray! There was no sun! It was raining!
Therefore, it must be miserable.
Therefore it must be miserable!?
Perhaps it is naivety on my part, as it is seldom gray at home
Or simply the honeymoon phase of my arrival here
But I simply can’t help but wonder
What is poetically miserable, and what is actually miserable.
What is actually miserable?
Certainly not Cambridge Autumn.
November 5th, 2023
My first vivid recollection of Cambridge’s autumn comes from a bike ride in early October when I visited Ebisuya, a former Japanese grocery market in Medford.01 sadly, it closed earlier this year :( As I descended through various neighborhoods of Medford, Sommerville, and Cambridge, the trees and their colorful leaves felt as though they were enveloping me as they blurred along the edges of my peripheral vision. This was my first time ever living through a stereotypical autumn, common in media though almost completely foreign to where I’m from.
Here’s some pics I’ve taken of autumn throughout the years in various places in Greater Boston:
And here’s an example of the New England homes I referred to: the ubiquitous triple-decker.02 Three-deckers (triple-deckers) are primarily found in New England, mostly constructed during suburban expansion in the first half the 20th century. i think they're pretty neat.
Row of triple-deckers in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Where I’m from in Camarillo, California, we have a dry season, a wet season, and interspersed other seasonal periods, like the Santa Ana Winds from the desert and “June Gloom” from the sea. Cambridge is obviously very different but, as you might infer, I’ve enjoyed it a lot (especially the rain)!
(I’m foreshadowing more nature/season appreciation posts; my snow pictures lie in wait…)
- sadly, it closed earlier this year :( back to text ↑
- Three-deckers (triple-deckers) are primarily found in New England, mostly constructed during suburban expansion in the first half the 20th century. i think they're pretty neat. back to text ↑