has come
early
this year–not yet
mid-September
and flecked leaves
flash their gilt
at the jades
of summer. Soon
rust
beginning
to flirt
at the edges
willconsume the heart
in a flood of fall.
It is a time, too, for cool
decision, raking
the past, hoarding
heat, evidence
to ashes, shedding remorse,
the trading of one season
for another.
by Deanne Bayer