Ladybugs

round leaves along branches
turn red and become a busy
gathering of ladybugs

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What’s to be done?

the bare trees
stand around milling

bending to
and conferring with
one another

shaking their heads
at the foliage
at their feet

Not Yet, Pumpkins

Gold-faced or rosy-cheeked
Some last ripening apples
For the season’s late pickers

Autumn Squabble

Kinglets and warblers
creeping along branches
and a tussle between two
downy woodpeckers;
A crash after the rain

Apples, then Pumpkins

At midday
harvesters pick
golden delicious
while pumpkins ripen
into promises of sunset

Autumn on Summer’s Heels

purple asters arc
radiantly

from oak trees
acorns hang heavy
and drop
underfoot

on the last gust
of summer wind
the hummingbirds
arrive
and make haste

Leaves

Why is it?
That standing in the path
and watching the changing leaves
I feel at peace
and never alone

Anticipating the Autumn Migration

Perhaps this fall
I shall espy a Wood-y
Mixed in among the mallards

False Friend

Friend,
You coax me onto high beams
Over a bridge that ends in mist
Can you not see
The shaking of my feet?
I climb and fall
Catch myself on elbows and toes
Now, I can no longer
Even move.
Friend,
Do not be the hand
That pushes me
Off the edge.

Winter’s Approach

Mourning doves lament
As wind scatters sere-veined leaves
The snow hare’s footstep