Cool pale sun of Autumn
Soothes the fever
Of my heart,
Smoothes it down to calm
Before the ice of winter
Locks it into numb.

The seasons of the year
Reflect the seasons of the heart -
Accommodate
Facilitate
Needs that needs must find relief.
Man is animated nature
But he is not exempt
From the world without himself
That moves beyond
Time and flow
And the beat of his own heart.
Man is nature -
But nature is not man alone.
Nevertheless,
I acknowledge
The much
Of me in which
Nature hears
And speaks
And holds my being
Here for awhile.

Dated 9/23/1982