Twenty Leelanau Haiku About Fall
I.
Carpeting
Trees bright with color.
Weeks of horizontal rains.
I walk orange trails.
II.
Grouse
My approach scares him.
He launches with loud clatter
Like boys throwing chairs.
III.
Pileated
With the trees baring
I can hear that woodpecker
For one hundred miles.
IV.
Honeycrisp
Roadside apple stands
Sell paradise by the bag.
By the bushel, too.
V.
Revelation
What announces fall?
How do I know autumn’s here?
My dog wears a coat.
VI.
Monarchy
Maple covered hills
Give firs below golden crowns.
Royalty, indeed.
VII.
Epiphany
Autumn reveals all,
Disclosing life’s great secret:
Cider and donuts.
VIII.
Remaining
The lake is not gone.
It is right where we left it.
Just ask the otter.
IX.
Concord
Townsfolk disagree,
Their signs show, but not on this:
Pumpkins on porches.
X.
Naptime
Layers of dry leaves
Where moist tomatoes once grew.
Garden bed at rest.
XI.
Sportsman
One of the last bugs
Joy rides on leaf in river.
He is my hero.
XII.
Philosophy
Raking leaves, I grasp
How Sisphyus kept at it:
This is what we do.
XIII.
Purposefulness
The summer tourists
Come for wine, the fall for trees.
Both are just causes.
XIV.
Fever
No, fall it is, fall,
When hearts stir and strive for love.
Spring gets all the press.
XV.
Celebrity
The guy who is last
To pull his boat from the lake—
I want to meet him.
XVI.
Victuals
Local law declares
That all beef stew and dark beer
Must wait until now.
XVII.
Storage
The boat yard is full.
Full of memories and hope.
It has its own peace.
XVIII.
Tenebrae
We feed the darkness.
Why do we hide from the light?
Screw daylight saving.
XIX.
Kitchen
In from a brisk walk,
Sweet scents pour over my tongue.
I will have seconds.
XX.
Immortality
The lesson of fall:
For us to know God’s sweet grace
Things must seem to die.
