October Is Burning by Robbie Nester

After Biltmore Backyard, by Robb Shaffer

In autumn I hunger for seasons,

the small fires of October

burning fields to the root,

skies suffused with smoke,

reducing summer to ash, to

leaf mold and yellow sheaves,

a ribbon of migrating geese

overhead, each bird

sounding its convivial trumpet.

Naked oaks, late-season

bathers caught in a chill,

spread their silver branches,

catching a last bit of sun.

Covens of pines summon forth

winter; the smallest Japanese

maples burst into flame.

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Robbi Nester is the author of three books of poetry: a chapbook, Balance (White Violet, 2012), and two full-length collections, A Likely Story (Moon Tide, 2014) and Other-Wise (Kelsay, 2017). She has also edited two anthologies, The Liberal Media Made Me Do It! (Nine Toes, 2014) and an ekphrastic e-book, Over the Moon: Birds, Beasts, and Trees, celebrating the photography of Beth Moon, accessible here. Her poems have appeared or are forthcoming in many journals and anthologies, including Cimarron Review, Broadsided and Pirene's Fountain.