October walk in the park

Chill wind on my face, I pull my collar up
quicken my pace.
So recently, summer’s blooms, fed and stroked
by the sun, heat exhausted, splayed and leaned
the way bodies on a beach let limbs drop
this way, that way, nothing holds together,
no symmetry or defined edges.
And shadows, soft and low, barely formed
emerge early and late, lazy as the full-leafed days.

Today, sun and sky are in mighty collusion
flaunting their strength before winter knocks them out.
Done with the scintillating reds and yellows
in the woods, now entire trees
lie across my path, startle me – shadow sketches
charcoal grey, stark trunks long and true
Their gauzy leaves shiver before they drift away.

Crow flies above, her shadow is a black cross
marking the earth for winter.