OCTOBER

October is like an unplanned drive,
the roads back country
and meandering,
the other cars
occasional,
a determined deer
or quicksilver squirrel
the biggest hazards,

and then
just like that
the road widens,
and thickens,
a harsh unnatural line
slicing the middle,
asphalt and buildings
erupting like an acne
upon the tender earth.

Last week we bared legs,
dropped back into
the arms of summer,
the humidity raising sweat beads
that shimmered
jewel-like
on grateful brows,
like so much magic
against the backdrop of
autumn oranges
and reds.

Last night
a near freeze,
and the basil
is at the back door
begging to come in,

and I stand at the kitchen sink,
eyes glazing towards the window,
wondering which way to go—

out to walk
with the ever crisping breeze,
the optimism
of the sunflowers still smiling
and waving from the neighbor’s yard

or down, down
to the depths of the basement,
the underworld home
of a bin marked
Winter: Warm Things.

–Melinda Coppola

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