IMAGES OF
AUTUMN
H. K. Kendall
A lone wolf howls through blue nights-
Filled with woodsmoke’s sultry scent
she flows midst quaking leaves
As though her phantom breath.
might clothe the trees
and soften brittle bones...
Snow geese call to fire-bright stars
and bid adieu to the northern moon-
They sluice across her golden glow
floating thankful feathers
to Mother Earth below
Some downy comfort
for her autumn breast.
A swift breeze blows-
Silver wisps of summer’s fertility fly
Across still waters they ran
like tiny fairies tripping ripples
To tease the trout and remind the toads-
winter is near...
Little beaver knows
the busy breath urging his heart-
he is happy-content to place
a last few sticks on his
snow time lodge-it’s grown
from twigs of willow
to a towering dome
his love-mate’s home.
Tricky raven clicks and crows
He caws to tease the squirrels and those
with whom he roosts
white spruce cones clatter’ gainst
his head, and churlish squirrels leap
to their beds-he swoops
alight on tundra’s turf
to pluck sour fruits
in blackened beak...
And as the first flakes flow
Three red drops fall-
In Time, with Earth’s own
passing year.