The morns are meeker than they were --
The nuts are getting brown --
The berry's cheek is plumper --
The rose is out of town.
The maple wears a gayer scarf --
The field a scarlet gown --
Lest I sh'd be old-fashioned
I'll put a trinket on.
the mountain fog
cannot keep the secrets
of the bare tree.
the leaves are gone,
but the green of moss remains:
rainy autumn days.
roadside saplings
take Fall colors for a time,
before going bare;
the envy of humans:
at once young & old.
a bare tree,
beside the stream,
sent leaves to the sea:
how far did they get?
"beyond eye & mind."
a bird absconds
with a tree's last few leaves
for its Winter nest.
with foliage thinned,
the grassy undergrowth gets
one last time to shine.
Spades take up leaves
No better than spoons,
And bags full of leaves
Are light as balloons.
I make a great noise
Of rustling all day
Like rabbit and deer
Running away.
But the mountains I raise
Elude my embrace,
Flowing over my arms
And into my face.
I may load and unload
Again and again
Till I fill the whole shed,
And what have I then?
Next to nothing for weight,
And since they grew duller
From contact with the earth,
Next to nothing for color.
Next to nothing for use,
But a crop is a crop,
And who's to say where
The harvest shall stop?
Tiger Riding for Beginners 