How much chalk
will cover this chalky chill
with enough yellow to defeat
the lingering green?
That's what autumn does:
it goes to the board
and before it erases
it uses the palette,
makes its effect
feel late.
As the tendrils become fingers,
tree hands are revealed
extensions of fractal arms
smoldering with under-bark life
clapping in the breeze
against the blue threads
behind the twisping clouds.
Class goes out of session
for winter break
and all the learning
accrues to the posture
of deliberate continuity
that this cooling section of land
must seasonally submit.
Roman Ryan 