autumn's palette

in every child’s favorite season,

the scorching sun’s fiery tang

yields to the caress

of a zephyr’s gentle sway

 

my synesthetic realm

each month a chromatic parade

a symphony of senses

awash in hues and flavors

 

september, a purple canvas

she is my birth month, a tapestry woven

with the sweetness of cake 

and love in an envelope’s embrace

 

her air is soft and sweet

summer’s warmth still cradling

her leaves resplendent, aflame

radiant with verdant life

 

october, an orange slap

her honeyed warmth receding 

replaced with his bitter gusts

and his tempest’s furious cry

 

scarecrows in ghastly plaid

clashing lines in chaotic disarray

fields of warty gourds

and hay’s pungent perfume

 

november, a respite of midnight blue

shadowed by the grief

of my grandpa’s loss

on my brother’s birthday

 

his tender breath, a poignant sigh

still kissed by melancholy

is soft and kind, filled with

bittersweet echoes of memories

 

as fall unfolds, a transition

from summer’s embrace to winter’s allure

i find my place in this unrhymed tapestry

a symphony of colors in harmonious fusion.

Posted in response to the challenge Fall: Writing.

Maya Zankowski

NV

17 years old