wherever I turn
you are there
no more

fluttering, twirling
delicate signatures in flight
rising moth, falling leaf

emerging from the woods
we become entangled
in your prickly past

rancid swamp breath
have we lost our way?
a duck paddles past

our carved initials
no longer legible
in contorted growth

soft rustling above
the cool blue sky warms
to orange applause


lavishly released
held by the wind's cupped hands
the paintings descend


ambushed by fragrance
we freely trod upon
small masterpieces

Sunny recalled


early dusk
the sun slips away
with my heart

come harvest moon
you dance in meadows
while I sleep

fiery leaves
merely remembered
wither brown

the branches are bare
the world grows smaller
without you

sweetly-scented leaf pile
even on the wind
your absence finds me

the season changes
this lingering stillness
remains

no towering forest
could conceal that auburn tree
aglow in the fire

en memorium


trees shed yellow leaves
geese slip out from the cold
my mother exhales


how fast the leaves turned
from green to burnt sienna
at her departure


a wind-blown oak leaf
twirled against the passing clouds
now the air is still

leaves shiver, cling
against the thinly-veiled moon
you are gone

raking new leaves
over the same ground -
therapy session

scritch of the rakes
springy sweet-scented mound
only your feet show

scritch of the rakes
springy sweet-scented mound
and then you vanish

for mandy smith

sunlit warm wood floor
shadow of a falling leaf -
this fragile moment

warm scent rising
a rainbow at my feet -
Indian summer

you alone stand bare
amidst a row of chestnuts
dressed in sunlight

bright against the blue
in your upper branches -
a school of salmon

in slips autumn
out from the faded green
a warming glow

pale pendulous moon
heavy with promise -
cold nights alone

summer fades
into memory
meandering leaves

there it is again
a feast for my nostrils
woodsmoke on night air