Autumnal Equinox

A chilly morning breeze
woke me and the neighborhood birds
on the second day of autumn.

Yesterday,
the sun passed the point
where the ecliptic
intersected the celestial equator
changing the seasons mood
from summer to fall.

I listen to birds
praising the new season,
celebrating cooler temperatures
and the coming harvest.

As shadow falls across my soul,
I remember my Oklahoma childhood,
the cottonwood in my grandparents' front yard
and the way its leaves transformed
from shining green to yellow.

I miss
the way the leaves announced
the change from summer to autumn
and their aroma
when I jumped into the piles
my grandfather raked in the front yard.

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