Night Weather – Fall, Week 7: Cold Saplings

​Katie Nordt LaRosa, 2010

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vii

in the riprap
cold saplings
burning red


I don’t recall now where I saw some red-leaved saplings growing in a bank of riprap. I believe it was near the sea or by the Chesapeake. I didn’t convey clearly to Katie what I saw. She has depicted little flames sprouting from gray rocks—life burning as the season of dormancy approaches. The fire will be back in the spring, with the blood red of new growth. 

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parting from friends--
yellow and brown
the falling leaves


raking leaves--
the white-throated sparrow
is singing for us


raking leaves--
at last we can see
the robin's nest


wanting for nothing
I float on the river
an empty leaf


November-- 
the last ripe tomato
hiding in the weeds

Posted 4 November 2024