dog bless us all

under the benevolent gaze of our furred supervisors

we coax the soft colours of the early Fall

into our cloth

since the summer solstice, the trees of the woods

have been doing their housekeeping

sorting the trash as it were

preparing for the glorious leaf-shed that 

is yet to come

for us it means golds and browns in our bundles

less green

[that's more a colour of May and June - bearing in mind we're talking northspeak here]

by four in the afternoon

folks are feeling the call of the teapot

[or for some, a splash of something stronger]

i wander down the meandering gravel road

bordered by stone fences

blessed by the occasional falling maple leaf

and stand for a while in the gentle rain

[unstrained, like the quality of mercy]

gazing at a still pool

in which small brown fish are nibbling their way along the bottom

i remember, years ago

 lying flat on a warm rock

reaching my arm into a cold cold stream

to tickle the belly of a trout

and turn back

it has been a very good day

here's Velma's version