"Early Fall in Central Park"
By J.D. Salinger
Slobber and swarm, you condemned brown leaves.
Around my feet, even my soul, just as you please.
In rhythm
And cadence
With nothing.
Peek-a-boo! You scraggy, impotent, shrouded sun.
It's only me; so don't shine or primp; just run
Along and
Take orders
From calendars.
Good afternoon, good afternoon, nude little ladies!
Such attractive mink. It's all yours? Ah, what's new in Hades?
I love
Your hard
Hard heels.
Written in 1939, this is the only known poem of J.D. Salinger to be located; this early work was found among the collected papers of Charles Hanson Towne, a poet and Salinger's instructor at Columbia University.
J.D. Salinger served in the U.S. Army during World War II as a counterintelligence agent in the 4th Infantry Division. His service included participating in the D-Day invasion of Normandy, the Battle of the Bulge, and the liberation of Kaufering, a sub-camp of Dachau.
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