Farewell Fall, Welcome Winter

Just yesterday,

The air was crisp,

The sky deep blue,

The sunshine warm on my face.

I gloried in the

Last days of Fall.

That indefinable smell

Of Fall

Drifting up

From the forest floor:

A complicated aroma

Of dry oak leaves,

Sweetly fermenting fallen apples,

Earthy moss,

Leaf shreds becoming

One with the soil

Beneath my feet.

The last of the goldenrod flowers

Added their unexpected sweetness

To a mostly flower-less landscape.

The mums,

In their bright pots,

Contributed their bitter notes.

Today

Fall has flown.

The sun turned,

Overnight,

From the last warm rays of summer sun

To the icy winter orb

That offers light,

But no heat.

My breath floats,

Visible,

In drifting clouds,

And my startled nose

Shrinks

From the cold,

Pinching tight

To hide from the icy blast.

The leaves,

Warm orange yesterday,

Today sport a crystal coat

Of frost.

They sparkle coldly,

Frozen rainbows

Decorating their icy edges.

Puddles

From yesterday’s rain

Today form tiny skating rinks.

In their shallow depths,

Fallen berries glow,

Magnified:

Orange bittersweet,

Red barberry.

I step,

Deliberately,

Into the center of

The smallest frozen puddle

Just to hear the

Crackle and chime

Of the shattering ice.

The air stirs,

And yesterday’s warm Fall breeze

Has become today’s

Winter wind.

I turn up the collar

Of my light Fall jacket,

Inadequate for today’s

Winter,

And return to my

Warm house.

Farewell, Fall.

Welcome, Winter.