Autumn in April

Autumn in April: leaves drift down from a beech tree, maples are red again.

A millipede is climbing the bathroom wall next to the toothbrushes.

Three red-tailed hawks dive-bomb each other in the unseasonable heat.

The hugely pregnant feral cat stares balefully from behind the hyacinths.

The sprouted millet still shows a little yellow; goldfinches, a little green.

When the rain subsides, a blue-headed vireo’s deliberate song.

Watched the bears till dark. In the morning, muddy pawprints on the windows.

In the porcupine-girdled branches of the plum tree, a male cardinal.