June promises wither, fuel
October passion,
a sensuous mingling 
inconceivable in spring, 
tangles of auburn, sienna
and honey gold. 

Fall’s arrival surprises 
the valley, and it reverberates
with hurried preparation.
Cacophonous instruments – chainsaws,
chippers, shredders and mowers – play 
a dirge for September and ready
her remains for the funerary fire.

A strike of the match, 
and the pyre bursts color, auburn,
sienna and honey gold, threaded blue 
beneath the sheer shroud of morning.
Summer hovers, incense,
in the heavy autumn air.