Next Door

Next door, the neighbors are playing
Red Light, Green Light with their kids
Whose bright laughter carries over the rooftops
The summer air is heavy, damp
And the maples hang weary branches over the lawn.
Even the bumblebees amid the catnip sound tired
High summer, hot
And the best thing to do is play lawn games
Or drink iced tea in the hammock

Gray Autumn Skies

Autumn and the gray skies
Settle upon the woods
Now ending the utter riot of color
As leaves slip gently to fragrant earth
And go rattle-dancing with the wind

The fields are pale with ripening grain
And the harvesters move in
To strip the bounty from the soil.

Autumn, and my thoughts are of winter
Already
Just too close
And my blankets on the couch
Bring little warmth
Soft as they are.

Gray skies, like tired flannel,
Dreary like unwanted memories
Cold like unrequited love.