Wish

 

If every cloud

was a wish

this afternoon

would never end

No more petals

would fall

Leaves

would flutter

forever

poised to change

touched

with gold

and crimson

still green

Fall

 

Before

leaves turn

Autumn

casts

its fruit

Oaks drop

their acorns

some losing

their fringed caps

Green drupes

of hickory

and walnut

roll in grass

their moist husks

a puzzle box

for busy squirrels

Seeds helicopter

in the breeze

and crunch

between my shoes

And the air

smells

like

Fall

Buzz

 

Cicadas

high

in the trees

project

their late summer

song

Familiar

yet

almost

alien

Relief

 

Afternoon breeze

carries

smoke

and

maybe

a hint of rain

of autumn

even

of cold

to come

Stores

 

Morning light

and the dawn conversations

of birds

Summer's colors

have muted

to green

and gold

sumac red

and white

milkweed puff

Squirrels

hoard black walnuts

leaving behind

a litter of green husk

Chipmunks

scold from

the tangled canes

of wild raspberry

My stores

are rays of light

and wildflowers

perfume

of high summer

and

approaching

autumn

Begin/Again

 

But

what if

there is no

beginning

because

there is no

end

My season

dormant

has circled 

back

to birth