gray-blue greeting

gray-blue morning

misted deep sky obscuring stars

chill fingers outside the covers

signs of autumn not coming

            but here

color preparation

autumn in the air

filtering summer’s brilliant

whites and yellows to warm

rather than sizzle-hot

as though through burnt orange lens

readying us for greens to re-dress

in red, umber, beige, muted gold

buttery browns, even blue

the colors of a fire in the hearth

in preparation for winter

first courage

black-capped chickadee

at leisurely breakfast

in the birdseed tray

ignoring the wrought iron bird

that so frightened all the wild

birds when my daughter first

set out the try

it was a lesson in avian learning

for me to watch the first scrub jay

who perched at the far side of the tray

pecking with half his attention

on that dark, unmoving shape

after his first bravery

so many have followed

and are now nonchalant

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pinker than yellow-black

chill, pink morning so autumnal

i walk not in fear

of yellow jackets swarming

from their ground nests

my porch and yard

are, finally, again my own

autumn coming

some of my grass is green

the sheltered areas mostly

that moving shadow helps protect

from photons in numbers staggering

to contemplate moving in straight

lines until reflected or refracted

burn my tender leaves of grass

to brown.

chatter silence

chatter like the isolated

human click language

too fast,  too nuanced

for outsiders to understand

squirrels emote, communicate

give vent – except the male

who scurries to the side of the road

as each car approaches

only to hurry back

to sit silent beside the body

of its mate or friend

who never made it across

realism with a bang

vivid brilliance, blinding

there and gone before our minds

can react and label such power

lightning

and then, low and grumbling

a guttural observation, thunder

that comes more fleetingly upon

the flare and grows more fierce

until each is upon us, overwhelming

terror

so primitive millennia of learning

accomplishments, gadgets

unwarranted pride dissolve into shaking, proper, realistic

humility