<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" class=""><div dir="auto" class=""><div dir="ltr" class=""><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 3);" class="">The Fall Almost Nobody Sees</span><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 3); min-height: 22px;" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 3);" class="">Everybody’s gone away.</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 3);" class="">They think there’s nothing left to see.</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 3);" class="">The garish colors’ flashy show is over.</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 3);" class="">Now those of us who stay</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 3);" class="">hunker down in sweet silence,</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 3);" class="">blessed emptiness among</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 3);" class="">red-orange shadblow</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 3);" class="">purple-red blueberry</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 3);" class="">copper-brown beech</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 3);" class="">gold tamarack, a few</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 3);" class="">remaining pale yellow</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 3);" class="">popple leaves,</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 3);" class="">sedge and fern in shades</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 3);" class="">from beige to darkening red</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 3);" class="">to brown to almost black,</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 3);" class="">and all this in front of, below,</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 3);" class="">among blue-green spruce and fir</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 3);" class="">and white pine,</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 3);" class="">all of it under gray skies,</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 3);" class="">chill air, all of us waiting</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 3);" class="">in the somber dank and rain,</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 3);" class="">waiting here in quiet, chill</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 3);" class="">November,</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 3);" class="">waiting for the snow.</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 3);" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 3);" class=""><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>- David Budbill</div></div></div></body></html>