Autumn Nights

Chorus of crickets harmonizing as a soft breeze

combs the trees,

branches gently swaying...

Harvest moon winking at me through filmy clouds 

in the autumn sky,

a familiar face.

Memories flood back. I close my eyes recalling

games of hide 'n seek

with childhood friends...

Running, tripping in the dark through yards,

over rock and bushes

to touch Home Base.

Autumn's cool breath mixing with summer's

waning warmth beckons me

to stay and listen...

But turning a deaf ear to go inside and close

the door and miss

the chance to rest.

Tonight I pray Old Man Moon and cricket friends

resume their autumn play

for an audience of one...

Sitting in my Adirondack chair, head back,

absorbing the sight and sounds

of nature's best.

Ode to Fall

Creatures of the Night

As night falls, I hurry home

switch on lights, close doors
to the cold night air
and imagine the Boogey Man
outside, in the dark,
ready to pounce.

Sundown comes
filmy clouds drift
across the blackened canvas
to kiss the star-dappled sky
painted purposefully, perfectly
by One more skilled than any mortal.

On velvet pads

nightlife crawls over wet grasses,
along woody branch,
through their realm
unseen by man
one hundred times as large.

Why fear what is hidden?
Nocturnal life lives in twilight.
Where I stumble, predators are agile.
Cats fleet of foot, owls dive with
unblinking amber eyes opened wide;
they survive another day.

Invisible world could teach me to trust,
to open windows and doors,
tiptoe outside, breathe night air,
creep over damp soil,
look under leafy screens,
meet creatures one thousand times as small.

To appreciate lesser inhabitants

may be contrary to human logic,
but to embrace the universal plan
set in motion purposefully, perfectly
by Him eons ago
is worth the endeavor.