Robert M. Simmons  

New Release

             October

         (An Excerpt)

Hordes take to the highways

in October.

The Kancamagus,

the Mohawk

and the South County

resemble the central artery

at five o’clock

as people flock

to see foliage more flamboyant

than the pyrotechnics

on Independence Day,

a stunning display

of maples, oaks and birches,

evergreens, dried grasses

and wilting ferns.

The world yearns

for the fruits of harvest

stacked at roadside stands.

Couples in denim and flannel

peruse piles of pumpkins,

crates of cranberries,

jars of jellies, jams and honey,

pepper, corn and green tomato relish,

jugs of cider,

baskets of apples,

tins of maple syrup,

Indian corn,

Johnny-cake mix,

straw flowers,

squashes

and gourds of all shapes.

October landscapes

belong to Winslow Homer,

and Main Street almost anywhere

might be a cover

for the Saturday Evening Post.

October can also be found

in ailanthus trees and sumacs

along the tracks

between Providence and New Haven,

in a harvest moon

reflected off broken glass

beneath an overpass

on the New Jersey Turnpike,

in vapors which rise

from buried waste in Woburn,

and in litter

rustling through the streets of Worcester

past an all night diner on wheels.

    © 2007 by Robert M. Simmons

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Subjects: poems about, October, autumn, poetry, poems

October