Riyadh Autumn After heat’s annual hiatus (Nature lying doggo, Months minus a single cloud) There comes this quiet defiance In the slant of light, A sudden crispness to each echo And shout. Summer’s embargo Lifted, the air’s loaded with age-old Imports, weightless cargo: Fleeting silver and gold, Exotic hints of cold This early evening in late October – Desert now slightly less so, Its grim perimeter Touched by a world elsewhere Martin Bennett | Mudlark No. 12 Contents | Aubade: London N.W.1.