crisp lisps
lift leaves

brown down
the street

a tree
unsleeves

winter’s win
‘tis autumn’s defeat

cold collects
the warmth of breath

and kicks free
the final leaves

winter takes
what winter wants

and we watch
how autumn grieves

blue has cooled
the stubbled fields

trees release
their autumn yields

a brilliant coin
the moon tonight

for winter’s purse
and a silence bright

autumn leaves angle
in a scrim

of light
untangled crows lift

from wires
and ever slow the sky

to set
and retire

you are enough

for this world
to touch

what trembles
and sigh

you are enough

at night
they lock

the doors
shut off

the sun
turn off

the waterfalls
but there

just beyond
the cooling blue

of the glass
cement

and steel
the stars

breathe
so patiently

and the stone said

don’t forget
to touch

and the sun said

don’t forget
to breathe

and the rain said

don’t forget
to cry

and the ocean said

don’t forget
to scream

and the falling leaves said

don’t forget
to laugh

and the snow said

don’t forget
to sleep

i fly
through the clouds
of my mother’s lungs

untouched
by the sun
or the moon

i walk
through the forest
of my mother’s lungs

lost
in its great shadows

i swim
through the caves
of my mother’s lungs

the rising tides
drowning out
all pockets
of air