To the Changing Leaves
After a photo by Sara Wadington at Cedar Lake, MI
by Michael Escoubas

Last night’s windy allegro
failed to dislodge most of you.
Gray clouds have exited the stage.
We felt spring’s accelerando,
the andante of high summer.
Late in the program, beneath pastel
blue, your colors sing the world
like a prima donna on Nature’s
ever-changing stage. The sun,
spotlights your sequined gown
glittering yellow and gold.
Even the little black dog crossing
the road pauses in your presence,
as if he senses the house lights
dimming, the seasonal curtain
descending. I stand applauding
your russet oaks, the bronze
of hickories, aspen leaves twinkling
like gold medallions. The dogwoods’
purplish reds add a flaming flourish—
the adagio, then the diminuendo.