At the feeding post, birds chirp out morning greetings,
cherishing these final meetings
before first freeze, frosty chill.

Sleepy-eyed, I breathe deeply of crisp air and smile,
one with the world for this while and
to its wonder waking still.

Through sun-dappled leaves that delicately flutter:
cobalt sky smoother than butter.
I beg God to give me wings

That I might dive into this season’s wave of change,
strange circumstances rearrange.
A dancing swallowtail brings

More joy, a sign that God my dying life will tend.
Common motion of steady wind
unites heaven and earth, sea

And sky, November cool and warmth of remembrance.
All life joins in this daybreak dance
of simple learning to be.