My fall fantasy comes true!
Who knew
you’re a blonde backyard bush,
a sweet surprise,
my autumnal blind date.

A heavy grey
double-line horizon
beckons me to my back deck.
Tight-lipped sky
like a permanent scowl.
A serious sunset,
fearful of fall.

A balding willow
comes to terms
with shriveling time
and a back-n-forth breeze.
Fingers and limbs turn damp,
foreplay our inevitable freeze.

A pre-frost feeling
like the calm before the
dark.
Rub the flint from deep inside
and pray we still have spark.
Just enough to survive
another deep fall.

© khartless 2021, All Rights Reserved 

Painting by Marcia Baldwin