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