early days of autumn


the early days of autumn 
are a mild marker of hard change just ahead
we know what that means
and even when you know it’s coming
it doesn’t make it any easier to take when it arrives;
trees dropping their body of leaves 
stand naked in the gray landscape
cold wind winding through branches of little resistance 
thermometer dropping steadily 
an attempt to get our attention 
before it’s too late to finish errands 
intended to be finished before now
wood piles stacked and organized 
in preparation for winter at its worst 
the pantry stocked with harvest provisions
and boxes of pasta waiting for consumption

although the mind can move at the speed of light
my body needs to take its time
on days and mornings like this
when I’m still feeling
the after-effects of yesterday’s toils 
the collateral noise of this world
and its important business
of stock markets and politics
an unrelenting barrage 
on my spare time 
and lofty intentions of
trying to make some sense of it 
all the while abiding the congestion of time and local space
and everything I need to get done today

I look overhead
and I see seven Canadian geese
in open sky heading north
in an asymmetrical V
five on one side
two on the other
the lead goose honking instructions
(or something)
the others haphazardly reply

this is my much needed break 
on a day such as this
and I return to my tasks
with much better odds in my favor

thirty minutes later 
I hear another honk
it’s a lone goose unhurried
flying back from the same direction he just came
he must have forgotten something…