Brown and red littered paths
marked by the passage of summers heat
Broadly worn by springs softer ways narrow
Fallen limbs natures toll bridge
Uprooted trees invitation to take the divergent way
Here and there the last morsel of acorn, beechnut, and walnut left in prominent seating
Dropped as if distracted picnickers were startled into flight by some lumbering troll
I look about and see nothing
Perhaps some green man lurks nearby
He too picking seclusion of deeper woods than chance encounters upon the track
And so I travel upon my way
Filled with thought and color of this autumn day
Tag: fall
An Evening Shower
The dog is playing in the sprinkler
My cucumbers are almost played out in the dry heat of fall
The few drops of water that manage to land where I want seem to just bead up in the soft dust of the garden
As I watch the dragonflies and hummingbird investigate my efforts
The dog in a perfect imitation of the sprinkler runs by and shakes down the rain over me
The smell of damp dog my reward on this beautiful day
The Fear Before the Fall
A Morning Walk
The City Lights with You
Nice sunset to stroll the paved sidewalk
There beside the river
Clear blue skies slowly fading like a rose
Into the soft pearl glow of a city night
Reflected backlight of a hundred street lamps
Stealing away the dark
Holding tight with a lovers grasp
Hands and fingers laced
You and I
Side-by-side together
Go
Your soft grip reminding my feet not to walk to fast
Directing them sternly when they go to slow
The same nested hold
With an awkward bump
Pulls the walk to a stop
And with a warming embrace
Hurriedly turns our path back upon itself
Shivering from the coming cold
Leads us home
An Autumn Day
The heart grows weary as the cold nights lengthen
The wicked gather
Adorned in riches of jewels and gold
Where are the vigilant that tend the watchfires
Have they abandoned their duty to glean the crops
Why have the wise men ceased their understanding
Frequenting instead the alehouse and tavern
Alone the traveler wanders
Burdened by knowledge that the gates have all been barred
Highwaymen prowl like lions
The blind, arrogant, and foolish fall prey
And from the rooftops the innocent crying leap
But there are none to stop their fall
Broken Lament
Those peaceful walks through autumn woods lost in guiltless silence
A frigid heart in solitude remorseful of their passing
Thoughts of you wander free tracing tear stained lines from pallid eyes
Displaced in time I watch you fade even as the last of the oak leaves fall
Last to find deaths release
lost love I linger on
The Goldenrod Bloomed Today
Tall, slender, leafy green rods
Shower out their brilliant yellows
Marking the crest of summers glory
Harbinger to the falling leaf
A Quiet Walk
Orange and yellow mix slow on the breeze. Red dappled woods laced with the faint memories of wandering trails. Highlights of green fern tufts mark the boundaries between fairy realm and memories of childhood. Rills and folds bend the land. My mind drifts out into this world. Each crisp breath forming thought balloons without captions in the air.
At the Garden Edge
Watching a young black snake slow gliding across leaf and rock.
She stands out against the brown and yellows of coming fall.
Silent and quick, and as long as a kitchen broom. Coiling up and then straightening out she threads her way along.
I often loose sight of her amongst the fennel an goldenrod. It’s only after a mad dash and leap of a surprised frog that I find her again.
The soft shimmer of black scale gliding along betwixt and between the plants helps idle the last of summer away…
