tornado watch —
we talk over the wind
until we can’t

we lay corn stalks down
over the mud and walk on —
frost in the shadows

saturated flash
simultaneous startle —
the bluebird’s piercing blue

our numbered dead
sitting here on my chest —
the moon keeps rowing

the name of this land
before my people stole it —
Lenapehoking

more light at night
although the days grow darker —
waxing gibbous moon

Asia Foster
gone from this earth at 22 —
I cannot get warm

where our yards meet now
just a huge wheel of a stump
and so much more sun

wind stirs the woodsmoke 
as the dark clouds thicken —
what are we making?

the fox looks back and
I feel my place in the world
fold in on itself

November morning —
we watch the wind undo
all that leaf raking

dwindling crescent —
night-blooming nicotiana
open for one last drink

down amidst the leaves
rabbits reminding each other
frost will come again

seven crows regroup
around the neighbor’s chimney —
we’re all seeking warmth

each day shorter
than the one before —
I race the sun home

home all day —
I share my water bottle
with the windowsill plant

tangle of uprooted vines
yellowing grass underneath —
no clocks to turn back

nicotiana —
white flowers even brighter
as the sun slips down

bare branches at last —
in between bouts of raking
we touch wood for luck

cold night air
and the scent of pine needles —
our gloved hands touch

the sound of acorns
falling into the leaves below
as the fog burns off

all the grandfathers
christened by grandbabies
who could say Pop-Pop

at the forest’s edge
a flock of wild turkeys
trading escape tips

Northern harrier
banking hard to double back
over our gasps

November morning —
wide open blue sky a prize
after all that fog

the sound of sirens
before we smell the smoke —
too-early dusk

trees standing around
to watch me run the table —
I line up the moon

laptop cooling fans
putting in for overtime —
Election Night

the way the sunlight
finds its way through the trees —
November dawn

a good soaking rain
and a story worth telling —
I come home to you