children spill from houses

bearing big new backpacks

hurrying to board yellow school buses

bronzed sunrise spreads

bringing light to see

one scarlet crepe myrtle leaf

among skittering dried oak leaves

crimson blossoms top pineapple sage and salvia

hummingbirds hover for sweet nectar

then continue their journey

lemons ripen, heavy on sagging branches

I prick my finger on a thorn

blood drop rolls down yellow fruit

I hear a call of geese heading south

September turning