The poem was written in the fall of 2022 as part of a MA program assignment. I wrote it in a journal after a friend passed away. On his birthday, a few months later, I went to the spot where he took his last breath. It was just beyond my backyard, and I decided to sit there and take in the surroundings. The poem is still rough in its current form. The punctuation is odd and word choices and placement are also off. The version is so rough, the tenses weren’t even checked. More revisions will be shared later.

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Red leaves clatter, still clinging to branches,  

Crisp nights, brightened by the near – full moon’s glances.  

Days inch cooler, the sun shines bright,  

With less heat and time, a fading light. 

Air thick with haze, wildfires distant,  

Yet the scent lingers, carried from a far – off instant.  

Tansy, past its prime, umber and dried,  

Dots whimsically between asters, colorful and plied. 

Black-eyed Susans open bright,  

Vibrant and stunning in lowering light.  

Summer’s eyesores, once deemed weeds,  

Now in full glory, fulfilling their deeds. 

Autumn blooms suddenly after humans toil to contain  

Summer’s mess,  

Mowed lawns and cosmetic efforts,  

Patches left untouched, where nature surprises us best. 

Humans are nothing, she is alive, revealed in colorful bounty.  

We attempt once again to master her,  

Yet, of course, she wins, unquestionably. 

Her powerful beauty on full display, soon to fade to cold harshness,  

She punishes our hubris, and still we toil,  

Plowing and shoveling, trying to contain the mess. 

Once she teaches us our lesson, we start anew,  

Seedlings rise from soil, eventually bloom,  

People see and temper her offerings,  

Without such effort, humans face their doom. 

Our bond with nature must find balance, there is no score,  

Humans are no match, and the planet, ready to wage war. 

If humanity destroys itself altogether in nuclear explosions,  

Nature shall remain, ever-present.  

Her cycles continue to challenge – undaunted evolutions.