Fall Notes Poem by Salvatore Ala

The beat of a train
At the crossroads of rain

Trucks on the street
And wiping of feet

The rasping of leaves
And patter of eaves

With leaf blowers
Offensive to the last flowers

And avian overtures
Announcing departures

Autumnal music
Turns inwardly magic

It fades from the forest
Like flowers from a florist

It creaks like a door
And falls through the floor

The descent is unkind
To the shelter of the mind

With accelerated sawing
The rot is gnawing

With tree shredders
Like men of letters

Outside our windows
Drift reds and yellows

Apples percussing
A quieter sussing

With more and more blue
Fruiting into view

More and more space
Attending the race

And late-night squalls
Pushing pianos over walls