Early Autumn

By John I. Blair

A leaf or two each day
Drifts down off tired trees;
Flocks of birds
Glean what they can
From parched lawns;

A difference in the clouds
Hints it’s not August
Anymore. We see
Ripening fruit and seeds,
Later dawns.

The heat of afternoon
May still be summerlike;
But in our hearts and bones
We recognize that autumn
Isn’t far away.

©2015 John I. Blair