Fall Shuffle

The seasons change

And Fall arrives.

The wild animals begin

The “Fall Shuffle.”

They are on the move,

Driven,

Searching for

A warm, safe place

To spend the coming winter.

They race across the roads,

Their minds distracted

By the search for

That perfect log

Or hole

Or pile of leaves

Or cave among the rocks.

I swerve around them

And they disappear

Without looking back.

I feel their restlessness

Deep in my bones,

Deep in my pulsing blood,

Deep in my primal brain

That is not so different

From theirs.

An urge to move,

To travel,

To leave today behind.

Where is my cave?

Where is my den?

Where is my warm, safe place?

Geese fly overhead

In massive flocks,

Their high, wild honking

Sounding like the baying of dogs.

“Come with us,”

They call me.

“Wait!” I cry, “Wait for me!”

But time

And tide

And geese

Wait for no one.

“Farewell,” they say.

“Farewell and fair skies.”

I watch as the V’s pass over

High above my roof-top,

North to South.

I return to my home.

Safe, familiar, cozy.

This is my den

My cave

My shelter.

I pile my couch high

With warm, fuzzy blankets

And burrow inside

To wait out

The Winter

And dream of Spring.