Moist, ethereal breezes intimately whisper
Cooling balm to sunbaked foliage.
Trees, now attired in military raiment,
In styles bespeaking revolutionary riot,
Proclaiming in eye-sparkling manifesto,
The swift advent of seasonal overthrow.
— There’s no time to lose!
Boughs strain heavy with seasonal fruitage.
The bounty, tho’ forsaken by large mammals,
In search of* safer havens
Alas, no time for juicy gorging,
Time’s to be spent on*seasonal survival.
Smaller ones, storing food, burrowing deep.
Instinct warns, dalliance spells disaster!
—We must not tarry!
Winged creatures depart aloft
Huge flocks with little hesitation
Escaping to safer geography.
Could one but hear deep in* the forest floor,
The excited chatter of woodland critters,
Anxiously nose-wrinkling reconnaissance
—Is there yet time?
Darkening clouds bespeak woodland calamity
Soon, winter gales, storms, sheets of ice,
Snow, that covers safe niches and hide-aways*
Cold, that delights in shivering death.
All must forsake the Fall magic.
–And once more,* we will be ready!
Leonard N. Shapiro, N.Y., (Sept. 2018)
*(edits)
-p,
plinyblogdotcom 