Cycles

It’s the end of October now,

And we finally had the first day of autumn;

Summer has held the valley hostage

Extra long this year;

Forcing the rain to circle away,

Leaving the crops thirsty and withered.

Part of my family lives in places

Where they think it’s a drought

If it hasn’t rained for ten days,

And they think it’s a heat wave

If the temperature soars into the 80s.

They have forgotten the dry twigs rattling,

And the dust-devils dancing,

And the sand in the creek beds,

Flickering in the heat that weighs heavy in the lungs.

This year, summer just decided to hang on,

Oppressively still and full of misery.

There has been no relief from the valley wind

That has moved only enough

To shift the thick, greasy, particle-laden air

Where it can more effectively obscure

The restorative view of the mountains

Rising above the summer.

But today the wind has changed,

Bringing a freshness out of the south and east

With a hint of moisture and coolness,

Swirling ‘round corners and rushing through branches;

Pushing against me as I cycle through the early morning

To finally turn and ride swiftly with the autumn current,

Racing the leaves down the Sugarpine Trail.

                                                                Frank Saxton

Birch Leaves, Fresno, CA