Hard juiceless blackberries sway
by KatSue Grant
Roseburg, OR
above webs like tiny floatdown parachutes
spread on the forest floor in the weak sunlight
tented by grassblades olden yellow and newgreen,
anchored on brown scrunched leaves.
Founded upon miniscule blocks of gravel
are dusty fairie panes beaded by dew
others mere webby funnels of doom
huge flatleaves of maple
fallen, piled bullion aflame
press-molded by tires on damp earth:
autumnal path for Gaia’s eternal treading
–and my hiking-booted trudging
each mortal footfall deliberate
as lungbellows measured beats
all the windingsteep road home
mundane fetched news-roll tucked
under my fleece-jacketed arm.
© KatSue Grant 1/22/09
