The Fall
By Donna Pucciani
Light
gradually dims
in autumn’s veined
vision. The dew trembles
on the last pink sedum.
Grey squirrels
begin to gather
a hoard of acorns
in furred cheeks,
their human-like hands
digging for sustenance
as polar months loom
in a sky full of snow.
But the light is still with us
until the clocks change,
colluding with nature
to stave off the dark.
For now, the pines hold
a brightening air,
a pulse beating
the vanishing rhythm
of summer, children’s voices
chanting in schoolrooms,
the owls waiting for winter.
Donna Pucciani’s poetry has been been published in diverse journals such as International Poetry Review, Spoon River Poetry Review, The Pedestal, Poetry Salzburg, Shichao Poetry, Istanbul Literary Review and Christianity and Literature. Her poetry has been translated into Chinese, Japanese and Italian, and has won awards from the Illinois Arts Council and The National Federation of State Poetry Societies, among others. She has been nominated five times for the Pushcart Prize and currently serves as Vice-President of the Poets’ Club of Chicago. She has authored several poetry collections such as Edges (2016), Ghost Garden (2016) A Light Dusting of Breath (2015), Hanging Like Hope on the Equinox (2013),To Sip Darjeeling at Dawn (2011) among others.