Clouds like a tumble of opaque bubbles
Spread themselves across a sky
Slowly turning pink along the edges.
The air is cool and there is no wind
The only sound is Romeo the dog
Barking in the distance.
Am I not the only walker out here
In this very early autumn morning.

The crushed rock lawns
Do not make dew, so nothing
Sparkles in the streetlights
That never let the road be midnight.
There are no lights in any houses.
Are some of them abandoned,
Waiting for the snowbirds to
Make their winter landing and
Increase the population and
The traffic on the highway.

The air is growing colder now;
My hoodie is zipped half way up;
My hands are tucked inside the sleeves.
I will not miss the scorching heat
That fried three months of sweaty walks
When five A.M. was never cooler than high noon.
It won’t be long until the heavy duty
Jogging suit comes out of the closet
And I see my breath before my face.

Walking in all seasons is a learning curve
For one who only lived in Spring
With Summer the remaining months
And storms were cause for staying home.
I am mastering the days, as now
These roads and walkways know my tread.
ljm