The path follows a simple circle
Through hemlock, cedar, & ash
Smooth
Like a freeway of dirt
Only the creek works hard
Passing under footbridges
An August trickle

Today, I hear the rain fall
Slicing the month 
into two dry halves
Branches droop under
the weight of the new moisture
Fresh drops, warm
With summer inside them

Apples will begin to fall
Blackberries ripen 
Hanging on to the moisture
of last spring’s slanted rain
From seed, plant, growth
Love 
and again

Fall lies in the distance
Patient