cottonwood tree sheds,
gilding sidewalk with gold leaf
autumn’s treasure hunt
master artist
20 Oct 2025 Leave a comment
in haiku Tags: autumn, clouds, God, sky
God paints evening sky
across watercolor clouds
with autumn’s palette
octoburr moonrise
08 Oct 2025 17 Comments
in Uncategorized Tags: autumn, fall, geese, harvest, leaves, moon
music of mysterious season
every extra-ordinary evening
when fall’s awe-calling and
autumn’s beat thrum-drums.
dry cornstalks quiver in crisp
whispers of sweater weather as
honky geese migrate late, and
de-fruited trees leave with a sigh.
orange pumpkin planets shimmer
eerily in phantom-tastical gleams
of the ghostly harvest moon-beams
that pierce clouds’ flimsy shroud.
Join dVerse Poets where Dora invites us to “trip the October light fantastic.”
decadence
04 Nov 2024 2 Comments
in haiku Tags: autumn, fire, leaves, maple, rain
rain soaks cold branches
red maple stripped bare of leaves
autumn’s fire quenched
falling for fall
21 Sep 2024 7 Comments
in villonnet Tags: autumn, bees, butterflies, cats, corn, cows, fall, leaves, pumpkins, wind
A Villonnet is a hybrid of the Villanelle and the Sonnet. It has the Iambic Pentameter of both, but holds the four-stanza/line structure of the sonnet, while utilizing the two-line rhyme nature of the villanelle. The final stanza replaces the sonnet couplet with a typical villanelle tercet. Linking this villonnet to Grace’s prompt at dVerse Poets pub. I was NOT going to write about fall, but here it is…
______________
i sit on deck to soak in warm sunshine
this end of summer’s glow suits my skin fine
fat cats watch scene from shade and lounge around
piped wind chimes’ gentle song is only sound
forgotten apple falls from top of tree
while butterflies migrate, bees cap honey
red leaves whirl past as if in joyful dance
a celebration of autumn’s last chance
ripe orange pumpkins lie hidden in field
as drying crops will soon their harvest yield
pheasants and deer will feast upon the corn
bred cows will glean before blizzards are born
today, september stays my favorite month
until the wind turns cold out of the north
then i will dream with birds of drifting south
_______________
NOTE: Line 1 is to be repeated as lines 8 and 13, and line 4 is repeated as lines 12 and 15. I neglected to repeat any lines, not a true villonnet…may have to rework sometime!
weathering predictions
19 Sep 2023 24 Comments
in fold Tags: autumn, cattle, corn, fall, fires, geese, leaves, school
autumn’s season when leaves must fall
in colors of dying sunset across sky
where canada geese high above us call
their long goodbyes to summer’s home;
they must move on as leaves must fall.
farmers bring in dry harvest of ripe corn
and deliver fattened cattle to butcher’s stall
to supply grocer’s shelves to feed all our
children hungry for winter’s first snowfall;
in hopes of missed school days while haze
of smoky fires burn dead leaves that must fall.
______________
This is a “fold” poem invented by Gillena Cox and featured at dVerse poets’ pub.
The Fold [Gillena’s guidelines]
1. 11 lines
2. The end phrase of Line 1 repeats at Lines 5 and 11
3. The rhyme of line 1 continues through in every other line
4. There MUST be a reference to nature and how it affects you, the poet
do you know?
22 Oct 2019 31 Comments
in quote, Uncategorized, worship Tags: apples, autumn, cornstalks, leaves, pumpkins, squirrel, tumbleweeds, wind
do you know what the earth meditates upon in autumn?
when north wind breathes fresh worship
over cornfield of heavy stalks bowed down
as ripe apples bless orchard with abundance
and tumbleweeds dance across rural road?
when crispy leaves gather in harvest pile
over rich soil fully yielded to waning sun
as pumpkins swell with orange-ribbed grace
and squirrel chatters praise for scattered nuts?
do you know what the earth meditates upon in autumn?
The beginning (and ending) question is from Pablo Neruda’s El Libro de las Preguntas.
autumn’s ambassador
30 Sep 2019 13 Comments
in haibun, Uncategorized Tags: autumn, farm, grove, hope, insects, lawnmower, monarch
It’s haibun Monday at dVerse Poets where we’re writing about insects!
I bounce along, riding the lawnmower around our farm site. It’s windy and warm today…excellent weather for drying the crops for the imminent harvest. We’re glad for the silage we’ve already chopped for our livestock. Cows galumph toward the fence when I stop to toss the fallen apples I gathered for them.
While mowing in our grove, I am discouraged to note many trees show signs of stress. Both ash and spruce host invasive insects that bore into exposed spaces in their bark. An epidemic infestation across the nation appears to have arrived here. Time will tell if it’s lethal for these trees we planted many years ago and nurtured to a protective and glorious expanse.
While fretting about insects destroying our grove, I’m surprised by a singular monarch butterfly that flits ahead of me, leading the way. It flutters into my vision as I pass by again and again. Like a shimmer of hope, it gently clings to a leafy branch. Stunning creature with delicate legs and designer wings sent to lighten my mind in a moment of serendipity.
monarch messenger
flashes autumn’s joyful hues
arresting beauty
seasonal palette
22 Sep 2019 5 Comments
in classical haiku Tags: artist, autumn, leaves, scarlet, sumac
Carpe Diem is on a quest for a masterpiece haiku at the start of autumn…
master Artist paints
tips of sumac scarlet red;
hints of autumn change
freeimages.com
crow on branch
23 Jul 2019 Leave a comment
in classical haiku Tags: autumn, branch, crow, flies
Chevrefeuille at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai offers us a beautiful haiku by renowned Japanese poet Matsuo Basho to “photoshop” (tweak) a little. Here’s my attempt:
kare eda ni karasu no tomarikeri aki no kure
on a bare branch
a crow has stopped
autumn dusk
© Basho (Tr. Stephen Wolfe)
bare tree branch sways with
dark crow’s weighty silhouette
autumn flies away
© lynn__
photo-shopping haiku
29 Apr 2019 2 Comments
in classical haiku, haiku Tags: autumn, ears, leafy, pillow, whispering, wind
Link to Carpe Diem Haiku Kai where host, Chevrefeuille, invites us to “improve” on a classic haiku; re-write and make it look better (like a photo-shopped image).
autumn has come
visiting my ear on
a pillow of wind
© Basho (Tr. Jane Reichhold)
autumn rustles in
whispering wind tickles ears
fluffs leafy pillow
© lynn__
photo by lynn
farmers’ complaint
14 Nov 2018 3 Comments
in haiku Tags: autumn, cattle, creek, deluge, mud
CDHK challenge to write haiku about rainstorm without using the word…
full creeks run swiftly
cattle huddle in wet mud
autumn’s cold deluge
a poem in my pocket 
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