We see autumn
As a blaze
Of red leaves, falling leaf-shaped embers
From the branch-lined sky,
A blaze
Of squirrels rushing,
Geese hurrying, of motion,
A blaze
Of jack-o-lanterns.

But around the jack-o-lanterns falls the night,
Advancing slowly through the days,
A black cat stalking the now-mouse-weak sun.
Northern winds come
Hand in hand with warm zephyrs
Above the autumn’s thin skin of fire,
Waltzing around each other;
Summer to winter and back
While below,
Frost turns soil to stone,
For hardy autumn-leaf mushrooms to stand brittle
Like Medusa’s stare.