dark night of fall

 dark night

as the huge, full, near

harvest moon

submits to cowering

in earth’s growing shadow

and stars and constellations

flicker and dim beyond

our accumulating fog

and autumn rain clouds

autumn in august

 a week now of mist, cool nights

morning dew bedecking spider webs

sparkling between blades of grass

until mid-morning

from green, leaves’ shifts of orange

then crumpled brown without even

trying on reds or yellows

let alone spectacular pinks, lavenders

or comely blues in which to greet

growling thunder or lightning’s

quick brilliance, with or without

fire-suppressing rains

yet forecast promises sweltering

heat’s return though probably not again

july’s triple digit dome of oppression

gentle oregon’s moderation unsure

as though it could no longer

read the calendar

yearly anticipation

 chill these last few nights

welcome after torrid days

awaiting long summer of hot

days and nights and the longing

for autumn

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.

settling into summer

chill mornings settling into season

with heat building through the day

grass a brittle gray-green and sprouting

fine seed to contribute to the pollen-laden air

without rain, even these few days,

earth responds to the brutality

of summer

de-desiccating

cold rain, so long forgotten

for these drought dust months

green now as though each raindrop

painted blade after blade

leaf upon leaf

with the promise that not all seasons

are bone-desiccating summer