And during a
Walk through a
Thorny thicket i
Spied a bush
Dangling luscious blackberries
Plump to the
Touch ripe and
Sweet I sat
Upon a stump
And dined one
After the other
So many times
In fact that
I finally knew
That it was
You that I
Dared the forest
Only to find
Fall signals the
End of summer
Exploding in color
Leaves sun succulent
Finally release summers
Sunny long days
I have learned
That the end
Of things is
Never the end
But new beginnings
Don’t fear the
Fall but celebrate
Both warm memories
Of languid lazy
Days and what
We might be
Next time around
At my age
You learn your
Place in history
You realize that
It’s not forever
It’s for now
I’m told that
I write often
About love for
Me love is
Like the wind
Invisible and moving
It makes leaves
Fall in fall
Snow blow to
Drifts in winter
Cools in summer
And brings rain
In spring and
Like wind if
We had not
Love we all
Would be simply
A desolate shriveled
Dry place lacking
Beauty and life
Even inside I
Can tell fall
Is coming not
By color but
By wind licking
Trees and grass
Soon leaves will
Leap like tiny
Spinning parachutes landing
And carpeting everything
Under foot calico
Fleeing from chills
To warming fires
We will huddle
And remember summer
HARLAN DIDRICKSON 