the woods have disrobed
trees prefer their nudity
in the off-season

leaf prints in the rain
part of the concrete sidewalk
now running away

thirsty houseplants watch
through the balcony window
pots filling with rain

autumn falls on the
abandoned swimming pool
scum turns to green ice

no bugs until spring
frogs in the pond burrow deep
into welcoming muck

no less than the leaves
stones in the graveyard also decay
just more slowly

she calls at eleven
it’s past my bedtime
but I’m not home

weekend together
free from the city madness
stuck inside our own

her paranoia
is utterly ungrounded
unless she reads minds

"It's a device," he said,
in the street lamp light, poking it.
"That's what it is."

possibly perfect
but too heavy to carry
I bypass the thing

certain street treasures
employ dark spells to evade
the recycling truck

autumn park people
draw together today in
the bright orange corner

office building shadow
reaches my sunny parkbench
lunch break is over

the mental challenge:
two more months of shortening days;
now hold sanity

bin full of papers
I rummage through like a rat
back issues of AdWeek!

searching for wisdom
I discover truth instead
newsstand reality

celebrity’s weight
they measure in tons
at the recycler

journey to work
not so much walking
as swimming

puddles in the day
live always against the odds
the sun is waiting

New York strangers stand
at the crossing as one
waiting for a sign

little squashed bug
your mad dash for safety
is what caught my eye

superman died today
yet dubya still struts
comic heroes live forever

the clock is shrinking
as my memory grows fat
time for a nap

in my cubicle
"please call it a workstation"
overwhelmed by beige

muses squeezed between
modules, wires and monitors
claw at my ankles

there is a doorway
glowing digital unlocked
tho tethered, I dive