The chill of the vodka
on my lips -
    smiling at a forgotten joke.

a swing creaks
          in a forsaken playground:
    low clouds wearily plod on....

Autumn leaves whisper,
     lawnmower drones:
urban trail.

Scarlet framed trail:
    Canyon shadows
     cider scented.

Browning ferns bow
to maples in flame
     below sheer sandstone.

My walking stick
     taps on water-weary rock,
     creating dull echoes.

Sandstone gently flows:
     golden aspen coins
     in still, dark, pools.

Ladders of flame
   to an empty blue sky:
       Canyon in Autumn.

  Sensuous curve
of water-worked stone:
   a trout hides in shadows,

silence of stone:
  a faint drip of water
  marks the passing of time

a bonzai garden
     nestled in a cleft
               high above a leafy carpet

Damp musk clings
to the maple groves -
       fades among rounded river rocks.

Yellow to orange,
     red in final stage.
Canyon's fall pallette.

scattered red among
riverbank leaves,
        shivering in storm-ridden winds

August warmth on my left.
November chill on my right.
     Atop Mount Elden.

     Golden leaves
shiver in October wind,
      frame the trail's welcome.

A hawk soars
    above golden aspens
    that tumble down the slope.

Scarlet fronds
among the Yucca -
       ascending boulder stairs.