THERE is a pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is a rapture on the lonely shore...
~ Lord Byron (George Gordon)

A fine day for a walk
along the edge of autumn…
Wear your flannel and bring the dog.
The common’s still green.
Collages of colors fan the feelings,
paint the sounds crisp.

Maybe…kiss me under the trees
in the chocolate shadows
beneath a canopy’s butternut leaves,
where no one but you sees
the flush…as flamboyant as red maples;
sends the shivers…some ripple
and fall.

If you like…lovely backlight,
the path by the lake.
Overcast, the cool’s just warm enough
we can take the wind,
watch the whitecaps whip, lap-over-lap,
the blue-gray watercolor wash
and crash ashore.
Let the dog run loose and chase the geese,
till he comes back,
he will…if you will dare.
Maybe…while we wait we’ll crack the silence
And each confess we care…

© Helga Ross 2006