September 28 - October 2 Week 32/72
are filled with an earthy perfume
damp leaves mixed with the faintest hint
of wood smoke from a newly stoked fire
hoping to chase away the cool night air
that slipped in through cracks and under doors
are bathed in orange-tinged light brushed onto
hilltops and the petals of the last Calendula blooms
as crows roughly call back and forth from trees
whose leaves are beginning to break free
slowly spiraling, like aged ballerinas, to the ground
are graced with fleeting visits from geese
arrived from somewhere off to the north
pausing to rest and eat with the remaining
wood ducks regally retracing their favorite
routes around the lake before they too take leave