Thanksgiving sky

the trees’ white skeletons
when I close my eyes

witch hazel

sun shriveling
in effigy

moonrise

shadows open
their wings

sapless trees

I’m already passing
that distant lake

deserted trail

dead leaves rising up
to dance

wilderness peak

checking my phone
for a signal

autumn pond

a bottomless blue
six inches deep

Mountain stream: haiku or tanka?

mountain stream talking to myself

pine scent

of a pine
discarded needles

mountaintop hemlocks

the last katydid’s
creaky love song

cable footbridge

the autumn river’s
unhurried flow

first fire

all the light that won’t
shine again