Sunday Reverence

A crisp chill in the air;
Lone rooster keeps on crowing;
Cow keeps on eating.

Wet web on the ground
Stretches out to catch the dew,
Sparkling in sunlight.

Sky is solid blue;
No hint of clouds anywhere;
Could it ever rain?

The cars seem softer,
Swooshing smoothly on the road:
Sunday reverence.

Some yellow and some dead:
Leaves on this tree mark the fall,
Harkening winter.

Is it just the sun,
Lighting this one patch of leaves,
Or something different?












Dark cat silhouette
Sits still and stares into woods.
It is made of wood.









Sunlight has broken,
Flinging shadows on the lawn
Cream-soft and flowing.

Afternoon shadows
Falling sharply on the road
Etch the end of day.









Old dry milkweed pods
Puffed in late September light:
Early Halloween.

A ripping chain saw
Cuts through the afternoon air
As much as through wood.

Wood's light is subdued
A bush captures it brightly,
Blossoms into sun.

Bicycles abound
Up and down the mottled road,
In and out of dark.












Pickup truck drives by;
I wave, it beeps a short beep:
Camaraderie.












Captured in the sun
An aureole radiance:
Truly goldenrod.

Nestled in tree's crotch--
Community of fungi,
One upon other.

Even as the Dead Leaves Fall

New spray of flowers
Even as the dead leaves fall;
Things always growing.









Soft winds of Autumn
Bend the tops of swaying trees
Bringing faint rich smells.









Dove on a phone wire
Watches the falling dead leaves
Unfazed by the breeze.

Ladder against barn
Is tentatively leaning--
Might push it over.

A sudden stillness
Envelopes road and woods;
Only my mind screams.

Blossoms in sunshine
Seem much happier than most,
Glowing in the light.

Sunlight in the woods
Has sneaked in, skimming the ground,
Avoiding shadows.

The wind softly speaks
Whispers in hush syllables
To be translated.

And Be Somewhere Else

Breeze and falling leaf
Under darkening sky.
Still, the sun breaks through.

A wild garden grows
With logs, sunflowers, tall grass--
Chaotic vibrance.

A flurry of leaves
Billowing out noiselessly
Caused by passing car.

Grinding and chugging
Car pulls out of the driveway
Taking dog barks with.










Boxes in driveway--
One open and inviting;
The other one closed.









Soft moss in the sun
Yet softer with the light's caress--
Kiss upon the green.

In translucent shroud
Dead leaf trapped above the ground
Suspended in time.

Above the dead leaves
Bright new blue flowers arise
Taking their turn now.











How swift the cars pass
To scatter dead leaves on road
And be somewhere else.

They are not all brown:
Dead leaves landing on the road;
Some still look alive.












Why don't they cross road
These chickens of old legend?
Because they're too smart!

Slicing the Darkness

Through the dim barn door
Bright slits of sunlight shine through
Slicing the darkness.

Unseen in the woods
Birds shout loud at each other;
Passing truck drowns them.












Poking through the fence
Tiny flowers flourishing
Know no boundaries.










The smell of gas fumes
Mixes with the sound of bugs
And placid shadows.

The road is darker
Just before it turns the bend.
Thick leaves block the sun.

Shadows in the woods
Seem to creep out to the road
With companion sun.

A patch of warm air
Sweeps gently across the road--
A gift from nowhere.









Old dry mottled log
Lies motionless in the woods
As shadows paint it.

A Soft Wind is Blowing

A rash of pine cones
Covers the edge of the road.
Distant goose honking.












Dogs bark and hens cluck;
Munching goats eat quietly.
My sandals go "flap".

Shadows on the stream
Rippling darkly and softly
Don't go with the flow.

How silent the leaf
Sliding downward through the air,
Lighting on the road.









Somewhere in the woods
A soft wind is blowing;
My heart is longing.












Through window of leaves
White line disintegrating
Fades into the sky.

In familiar bush
Strange yellow flowered stalk grows
Minding its business.

With a fart and groan
Garbage truck rambles up hill
Wheezing and gobbling.

Red berries are out
Though winter's three months away.
They will grace the snow.

Carving Out Darkness

Sharp morning shadows
Etch deeply on the tree
Carving out darkness.












Fresh pile of cut wood
Lies bleaching in the sunshine
Storing up its heat.

Miniature daisies:
Asters cluster together;
Unthinking bouquet.

In the bright silence
Shadows lie as still as ghosts.
A single dove coos.












A lone patch of sun
Falls on a rock in the woods.
Its moment of light.

Into the silence--
Punctuating explosions,
The local gun club.

Maroon thrust upward,
Sumac stalks point to the sky;
Tightly clustered fruit.









Brown leaf in green grass
Caught in web of the living.
Others will soon join it.

As If Nothing's Changed

Gray September morn;
Soft light glistens on the road.
A gentle breeze blows.

Tiny yellow light--
Soft beacon glows in the brush--
It's butter-and-eggs.









Crow caws in the sky,
Unseen against the slate white.
Bugs buzz in my ear.











Moss on lichen rock:
Two soft shades of green on stone--
Coexisting forms.









Woods without shadows--
Shiny dead leaves coat the ground..
Sudden stillness falls.

In all directions
They bend and dip--yellow ferns
(An oxymoron)

Yellow and brown tipped
Maple leaves hang from branches
As if nothing's changed.









A metal mantis
Preys upon some flying lines--
Its red head bobbing.