Epilogue, The Full Circle
A month ago the boughs were green,
With creamy blooms of blushing rose;
Now paper rust adorns the scene,
Before the coming winter snows.
October 31, Crossroads in Amber and Red
The traffic pauses, green and red,
Above the empty sweep of street;
While old brick arches overhead,
Where past and quiet shadows meet.
October 30, Through the Clearing Veil
A heavy ceiling, cool and gray,
Held morning back in quiet dread;
Till golden lances broke their way,
To warm the barren gravel bed.
October 29, Where Roots Take Hold
The twisted cedar grips the shore,
In weathered ribs of gray and brown;
Content to hold what went before,
And keep the timber standing down.
October 28, The Last Ember
No whisper calls the branch to yield,
No warning chills the fading air;
It settles on the quiet field,
A scarlet star resting there.
October 27, The Common Ground
The white spire climbs the autumn blue,
Above the brick of elder days;
Where bronze recalls what Yale once knew,
In steadfast watch and sober praise.
October 26, The Shifted Balance
The weight has left the empty crown,
No longer held against the sky;
The timber lays its burden down,
Without a backward glance or sigh.
October 25, Floating on the Fire
The quiet water holds the hill,
A mirror stained in crimson fire;
The buoyant pads are resting still,
As autumn climbs the timber higher.
October 24, Amber on the Spire
The marsh holds tight the damp and cold,
Until the morning burns it thin;
A furnace disc of smoky gold,
Where wilderness and dawn begin.
October 23, Between the Moss and Stone
No torrent shakes the timber floor,
Nor carves the mountain in its wake;
It slips along the quiet shore
With only gentle steps to make.
October 22, The Open Arch
Beneath the broad Palladian crown,
The heavy doors stand open wide;
To gather in the working town,
And keep the quiet safe inside.
October 21, In the Granite Seam
A narrow cleft in weathered stone,
Where spray and mountain seepage cling;
They rise in velvet caps alone,
Content with what the shadows bring.