The woods reclaim the old barn
returning her lumber to the earth.
Parting Gift
The last gift the cornfield gives
is its whispering song
on the winds of fall.
Beguiled
In the moonlight
the shadow of summer’s ghost
passes by the pumpkin.
Leaves Surrender
the first surrender is to color
the second is to be untethered by the wind
and the final surrender is to perish in form and replenish the earth
Possibilities
The still green meadow
holds out the possibility
of an Indian Summer.
Provisions
Winter can bring
whatever it must
the woodshed is full.
Quilted Sky
Tucked under a blanket of clouds
the river valley rests.
Mum
the garden’s secret keeper.
Deer Place
Bare birch
rise like antlers
on the mountain head.
Goodbye My Dear Friend
He goes free of the earth.
The sun of his last day sets
clear in the sweetness of his liberty.
The earth recovers from his dying,
the hallow of his life remaining
in all his death leaves.
Radiances know him. Grown lighter
than breath, he is set free
in our remembering. Grown brighter
than vision, he goes dark
into the life of the hill
that holds his peace.
He’s hidden among all that is,
and cannot be lost.
Wendell Berry
Spirit in Clouds
During dark days
if I remember to look up
I can see your magnificence
shining on me.
Nature’s Classroom
Fall illustrates
with astounding beauty and inevitable departures
the lesson of impermanence.
Goddess Trees
The trinity of birch
renewal, determination, protection
comprise a sacred ladder to the heavens.
Slender Thread
We are tied to this earth
with a thread more slender and fragile
than the stem of a birch leaf in autumn.
Entirety
rain drops into the pond
ripples merge
into the whole.
Turning
The change is upon us.
Daybreak
Blushing at her tardiness
autumn dawn makes her arrival
a bit later each day.
Our Two Chairs
Let us take our willow seats
and savor a few more garden moments with the geraniums
before the the frost comes and sends us all inside.
In A Certain Slant Of Light
Before the burst of color
fall appears in those moments just before twilight
and presents a world illuminated from within.
Sun Bleached Susan
Fall pulls the color
from Susan’s petals
Slope
The end of summer
has found her
angle of repose.
Beloved
September’s astonishing blue sky is for you.
Delicate lichen blossoms on stone are for you.
All of nature’s beauty awaits you.
Fringe
This tree wears its bark
like a flapper’s dress.
Bonsai
At the edge of the forest
where enchantment begins
grows a tiny tree of goldenrod.
Current
Rocks and trees know not to struggle
but to simply stay until the appointed time comes to go.
Change is forever pulling or pushing.
Do not begrudge the current its way.
Wisdom
The gnarled tree
holds the history and tells the story
of the woods.
Listen closely.
Flue
Stones reach into the sky
inviting angels to take a place
at the hearth.
Thirst
The birdbath
calls out
for rain
Ballerina Rose
Tiny dancers
take their last curtain call
before autumn closes the show
Passageway
Summer holds on
in sunshine and blossom
but Fall is pulling at her edges.
