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 go1den 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-
while 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.