Autumn
I would drive a pretty
long way to see something else
when seasons change. This year, trees
turn blue in the north. Elm leaves deepen
to indigo, aspen foliage becomes azure,
maples explode their cobalt into a fuschia
October sky. Bonfires flame in writhing
chartreuse banners, like windblown grass;
white pumpkins tumble over silvery fields.
As the lakes dream themselves glazed
with amethyst, violet frost feathers
my dawn windows. At evening, pale
jack-o’-lantern grins glow green.
Purple dust begins to fall.
©2005 F.J. Bergmann
"Autumn" appeared in the 2007 Wisconsin Poets' Calendar