apple picking

rusty giggles
hung on a tree
a hundred autumn rambles
a hundred muffled names
the thick rich earth
coarse blood alive
rushing faster
soaking up the life
squirrels hoarding acorns
last breaths caught
in a butterfly net
each one precious
a sharp memory,
rose thorns hooked inside
that slowly fall out
leaving nothing
but a jigsaw puzzle
(best left unfinished)
of scars
scars of forgotten cause
that stitch up
and fade
(at best)
into distant reminiscence

a taxicab window
the autumn monarch
fading from view

the sidewalk slabs
taproots underfoot
child of naivete
young adult
adult young
dressed in magenta and blue
with black shoes;
the rain dances
the street is alive
not more than usual
but more noticeable
as the musty cider
mixes with the thin air,
heightened vibrance
just about to disappear,
time for one more
one more shortcut home
past the tracks into the woods
a Doppler goodbye
as the five o'clock train whistles past
and I feel --
exquisitely human
(something that cannot die
about this time) --
so alive.