Autumn Again

Some of the leaves are a

Lip-pursing, sour-apple

Yellowy green, so tart

I can almost taste the

Sharp crisp bite as it

Implodes on my tongue,

Leaving my taste buds

Dazed and aroused and

Waiting for the next, almost

Painful, burst of flavor.

There are the trees with their

Leaves of red and orange,

Standing like flaming

Sentinels, spearing into

The blazing blue

Of the autumn sky.

Oh, how can I survive

Such burning beauty,

Season after season,

And not lose my hold

On reason, my sweet reason.

The smoke from the pyre

Of roasting leaves

Perfumes the air and

Brings back memories

From all the autumns

Of my days,

As I add another

Brightly-colored memory

To the story of my years.

Portland Pearl of the Pacific Northwest

Portland's Man In Pioneer Square With Umbrella

There’s something autumnal

In the air today, some scent

That wasn’t there yesterday.

The trees are beginning to

Show their true colors, as

Children return to their

Classrooms, clad in their

Own bright, fall hues.

It grew light later today, and

Will grow dark earlier tonight.

The sun will go wherever the

Sun goes in these autumn and

Winter months, taking with it

The warmth and the long dry

Days, and the rainy season

Will get under way. Umbrellas

Will open like flowers to the rain

And all true Portlanders will come

Home, like so many birds, to

Their evening roosts again.