Poems for an Autumn Day
Find a comfortable seat to enjoy our autumnal selection of poems
As the days grow shorter and the air turns crisp, there’s a quiet kind of magic that arrives with seasonal change. Take a moment to notice the golden leaves, the flowering of native plants, the return and departure of birds, the cooling of the winds. These changes are an invitation for steaming cups of tea, and slowing down — take a breath, wrap yourself in a soft blanket, and let poetry do what it does best: make the small moments feel infinite.
In this curated collection of poems from the Red Room archive, you’ll find gentle meditations, warm memories, and lyrical musings to accompany your autumn rituals — whether it’s watching the sky shift, cooking a homemade meal, or just enjoying the hush of a long weekend afternoon. These poems are companions for stillness, reminders of connection, and doorways into deeper reflection. So pour yourself a cup, settle in, and savour the words.
If you'd like to learn more about the complexity of First Nations seasonal knowledge, we suggest you visit CSIRO’s Indigenous Seasons Calendar, or read Ask Aunty: Seasons by Aunty Munya Andrews, a young person’s guide to tuning in with the cycles of Country.
Read the Poems
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Mid-Autumn Mooncakes
By Eileen ChongIt's nearly mid-autumn. I spy the tins
at the Asian grocer's - gaudy red peonies
unchanged for forty years. Of course
I buy the mooncakes with double yolks: -
Blue Among a Map of Clouds
By Jill JonesSunny — picking through
things on the ground
of what’s left here and above
Cloudy indecision — -
Gariguda
By Barry James GilsonGariguda walks and calls your name ,
In the sand as whispering whirlpools ,
And dances down the dying light ,
In a time where you could be human or animal, -
a simple recipe for my body
By Julie-Ann Henningeringredients
a range of mountains
forests of protein
south easterly winds -
Star Swamp Meditation
By Scott-Patrick Mitchellearlier, full moon morning
white orb weaver
spun glow into view
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The Elephant's Nostalgia
By Lindsay TuggleThis is the door.
Our curved bodies grew behind
these spiral walls. -
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Edge Of The Ceramic-Rimmed-Potted Earth
By Natalia Figueroa Barrosoyour hardcover copy of Love in the Time of Cholera
rests on my nightstand like your bones
rest in peace wrapped in the soil of our homeland
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Across, Across
By Ben Walterempty seats across
the corridor of water drinking sky, trees
finding foothills for vertical boards,
washed grass yes -
Autumn Leaves Falling
By Olivia (Year 8, Murwillumbah High School)Autumn has come, the air's getting chill
The leaves are changing, their colours are still
Red, orange, and yellow, they fall to the ground
Making a rustling noise, a beautiful sound