October 11*

the air reeks and snaps
          of fermented windfall
          brittle bright leaves
          the last lovely and soft sun of the year—
                    i smell
                              the plunder of summer’s work
                              the bare stem of winter
                              the last breath of warm play—

                                        each breath, at once

*Copyright 2010 by Luther Allen. This poem appears in The View from Lummi Island.