Creature Feature – Ode to Autumn

Blue jays call and acorns fall

The nights are crisp and clear

Chipmunks run the old stone walls

And coats turn gray on deer.

The geese fly high in bluebird skies

As apples tumble down

From wind that speaks in gusty sighs

Tumbling leaves across the ground.

A southbound journey starts for hawks

While pumpkins dot the fields

Corn is drying on the stalks

And farmers reap their yields.

Jack Frost soon comes ‘round to call

To nip our Summer flowers

While yellow, rust and red leaves fall

From treetops’ lofty bowers.

An urgent time of prep and hustle

For squirrels and mice and bears

That at the end of Autumn’s bustle

Retreat to Winter lairs.

Woodsmoke with its heady scent

Curls out from chimney tops

And snug within our homes content

The woodstoves hiss and pop.

The summer birds have gone away

And now we’re left to see

The titmouse dressed in somber gray

Or a tiny chickadee.

Like countless birds, now sojourn bound

Summer too has flown away

But the season’s circle spins around

And it shall return one day.

Take heart and seize the day dear friends

Embrace this time of Fall

For soon enough it too will end

When Winter comes to call.

Poem & photo by Margie Manthey