long morning run
following my own trail of
nearly frozen breath

waiting to see
how you will appear again
now that you are gone

sleepy six point buck 
stumbling to his feet
in our front garden

we brought our raincoats
so we wouldn't need them
the last time we walked

(for Alison)

autumn sparrows
bravely coming close enough
to be told apart

the goal
is to feel
without coming apart

ht Kelly Hayes

https://organizingmythoughts.org/the-emergency-is-the-atmosphere/

awake at 2:10
my internal alarm
with no snooze setting

acorns underfoot —
every crunch another 
oak-tree-shaped hole

screech owl laughing —
we throw open our windows
chasing the sound

streets lined on both sides
with protesters and their signs —
today's traffic jam

all over town
sign-makers looking for
their thick black markers

spooky season —
my four year-old friend
wants a song with bones

fast-running fox —
the line of its trailing tail
an after-image

October canal —
capturing and reflecting
the leaves' brilliant hues

fallen leaves gone black
wet and slippery decay —
bringing in the news

tight little bundles —
the last zinnia buds
of the season

nor'easter coming —
the air holds all the rain
it possibly can

acorns underfoot
milkweed fluff in the air —
time to test the heat

the world was better
(I want to say to strangers)
when he was in it

underneath the trees
beneath the grass
voles digging tunnels

fewer flowers now
with hardly any bees
and our friend gone, too

so many photos
of the place the monarch
had just flown away from

we take turns
going out to moongaze
in our stocking feet

fall planting season —
digging one hole
after another

gibbous half moon —
my mother prepares to say
the thing she always says

as close to the fox
as I am to you now
and still not a sound

the bald eagle's
rookie year —
no white head yet!