Blackbirds are back,
Crickets are still here,
The ferns are still green
but they seem more subdued,
sitting, perhaps, a bit lower

Needles drop from firs
from time to time,
Some maples are starting
to show fall colors,
Smoke came through
but now has mostly lifted –
there’s blue between the white clouds
in the upper sky

This moment’s pause in wind
portends that it may rain soon,
My skin is gritty
from airborne dirt and ash,
The work awaiting us is bountiful –
All in all, it feels good to be back.

©Wendy Mulhern
September 21, 2020