Leaves in the Mailbox

Has a frost descended?
The sun is just breaking;
It looks dark and cold.

As I sit inside
My body wants to go out--
Sprinter at the mark.

A patch of sunshine
Glows in the leaves in my yard;
Slowly light rises.

Hanging in the tree
Dead leaf doesn't want to fall;
It shrivels in the sun.

Against the blue sky
Bare tree limbs seem more naked;
Shine immodestly.

Leaves in the mailbox--
Are they growing in or out?
Spider web hangs on.

Pine needle cluster
Suspended, stripped of color;
Ghostly "evergreens".

Shadow of the leaf
Bigger than the leaf itself--
Alchemical sun.

 

Tassels of Autumn

Late morning gleaming;
Hundred million shades of green--
Opaque--translucent.
 
 

Whiff of a new plant;
A strange and sweet flowering.
Leaves dot my front lawn.

 
 



 

Tassels of autumn
Bursting silver in sunlight,
Weaving in the wind.

 

 

Shadows to the bend,
A carpet of not shadows;
I walk on it now. 

 

 
 

Shadows Love the Sun

 

After days of gray
Sun breaks through the waiting leaves;
Clear rain drops glisten.

 

 

Aseema on phone
Murmuring to her good friend;
Soft rhythm of voice.

 

 

Dried out Queen Anne's Lace
Looks deader in the sunshine--
Brilliant illusion.

 

 

Mysterious road
Is now cloaked with dark shadows
Bending somewhere new.

 

 

Gray ancient shack side
Polished by many shadows
Absorbs the sunshine.

 

 

Strange curious cat
Marches over to get scratched;
I oblige. He leaves.

 

 

Peter's rice paddy
In a small old foundation;
The grains are tender.

 

 

Being born swiftly
They fall gently on the road--
Shadows love the sun.

This Time It's For Real

 

Sun touches tree tops,
Breaking through the opaque leaves,
Raising my spirits.

  Hypnotic humming
Coming from inside my house.
Outside! (Or else sleep).

 He doesn't make it--
Trying to race against cars;
The dumb-ass squirrel.

A large pile of heat
Sits waiting on the front yard
For the magic match.

 Crossing road swiftly
Like an immense gray ghost.
Was it dog or bear?

 
 
Distant woodpecker
Rattles its hollow drumbeat;
Then the forest waits.

 This time it's for real:
Big black bear crosses the road.
Two bears in one day!

Two old Mercedes--
Not bad for a working stiff.
American Dream!

Floating Behind Them

 

 

Sitting silently
Watching nothing but my lawn.
The sun is hiding.

 

 

Kitchen reflections:
Ceiling lights hang in the air.
Where the hell am I?

 

 

Distant rooster crows;
Transformer hums overhead;
Olivia chews.

 

 

  

Yellow petals gone;
Only the bare buds remain;
Nature's chronicle.

Shadows in the stream
Ripple ever so gently
In whispering breeze.

 

 

Bright Black-Eyed Susans
Don't mind the morning greyness.
They have their own sun.

 

 

Two women walking;
Their voices a soft murmur
Floating behind them.

 

 

Drooping timothy
Always looks very tired.
(Or is he praying?)