Out for an Autumn Stroll

Out for an Autumn stroll

Just to see the colors true...

Leaves of orange, yellow and red

 The summer green, we think so right,

Are the trees in mask, not the shades of fall... 

A stairs, leave-strewn and bold

Where will they lead?

Just watch the step, leaves can be slick if damp

Passing by a fence, what do I see?

A pumpkin yard is full of orange pumpkins

so many as this, must be for sale

it isn't a field, so they came from somewhere

will children come here

and pick out their favorite ones

and take them home

to carve them into Jack-o-lanterns

to sit on the porch and sidewalk

with a candle lit

inside to cast the faces made on the gourds' sides

and meet and greet

the spooks and creepy things 

that pass by on all hallow's eve night?

here I find another set of steps

this one carefully swept

no loose, fallen leaves but each step

has a pumpkin setting there

and vine leaves grip tight

the back wall of each step...

neatly tended, a care is given here

that says, "I love this time of year"

and in this spot, it is hard to fear

the unknown

it feels safe

walking further, something moves among the leaves

I pause and wait, wondering

and then something furry and grey emerges

from beneath the tossed up  orange leaves

a kitten plays

chewing, biting, kicking the leaves

I am amused and laugh at the antics of the playful cat

going home, it has become dark

and colder, a wind picked up and nips at my heels

on my way, I am sent

and at home, I only want to snuggle

and feel content

I sit on my favorite couch, I desire

my legs under me,

with a brown, autumn homemade throw

draped o'er me,

as I listen to the crackling fire

and the wind at the eaves

a late evening in the autumn time

on the coffee table, beside a stack of books to be read

a harvest bowl of pears

red and green with a touch of orange blush

nestled in leaves

appeals to my hunger

along with luscious pears,

I want

a hot cup of cocoa, 

topped with melted marshmallows 

and rimmed with cinnamon toasted 

crunchy bits for extra flavor

now this, I call fun

Red apples, picked from the tree in the yard

home grown apples beat store-bought

you know they are yours, they are free

for the picking...sought

for the fun of eatting them or baking them

and whatever doesn't get collected will feed

the animals of the neighborhood

apples, with stars in the heart

 and a seed

 in each point

apples so dear

fruit of the field

And when Halloween is done

that does not mean fall is over

The cornucopia of the autumn season is 

yet to be filled to over-flowing

And to some it will reach its peak

as families gather around the table

filled to bounty its display of goodies

All the best that crops have produced

to give thanks to the lord

for what there is in life

to be grateful for