Autumn's Almost Forgotten

A portion of the season's passed
Sweeping away experienced leaves
But today I celebrate
The clouds' all too brief reprieve

Jacketless, I amble
Mid mercury's confusion
And witness wasps balancing
On poppies Californian

The sun alights on rosebush, red
While berries black reveal allure
Free from heavy blankets gray,
My heart, with warmth, is stirred
---
October 2007