I woke up
wondering,
why is the sun
shining in through
a north-facing window?
it was
my big maple tree,
bright yellow
in its dazzling,
autumnal display;

the trip to town
was a glorious drive,
the sky
full of falling leaves;
windows open
my half-finished poem
flapping
on the seat,
I drive more slowly
dodging wooly bears;

“the trip to town was a glorious drive…”

the autumn colors
remind me
of the corduroy shirts
I wore
as a boy,
and the multi-colored
drip candles I made
in my bohemian days;

“I’ll do my shopping, then see if the leaves have fallen”

I’ll do my shopping,
then see if the leaves
have fallen
from the gingko tree
on the college lawn;
then go back home
and think
of all the thing’s

“I’ll write while sitting at the kitchen table…”

I’ll write
while sitting
at the kitchen table
this winter,
by the woodstove,
when the leaves
are all mulch
in my garden,
the snow is falling,
and evergreens
reign supreme.

– Larry Berger, HashtagWV #137. November 2021. Read more of Larry’s work at sinksgrovepress.com