it's not that i didn't notice it:

all those brief blossoms
and showers of pollen
during the reign of spring

easing into summer,
with its balmy sun--
a far cry from fire and snow

but autumn is upon us now.
mornings are chill,
a breeze against the skin is cold.

the midday sky is burning,
showing off on the balcony
prancing across the murky pond,

afraid of love's passing
and the chance of forgetting
to wrap warmly in light

for its descent into winter.
it's time to put
a summer dress away

now that the colors
are a little more faded.

some of us

will not be making
the white journey this year.
autumn will bring a sparse emptiness--

in its usual blaze
of flaming glory
it takes down more than leaves