Christine Jackson Verse-Virtual 2016 October

October 2016

I now teach literature and creative writing at a South Florida university, but growing up in New England, I felt how seasonal changes in autumn carry a tragic beauty. You can find my poetry online in Shot Glass Journal, Scarlet Leaf Review, Ekphrastic Review, and other journals. For more about my work, please see http://cahss.nova.edu/faculty/christine_jackson.html

After Autumn Equinox

Dried leaves grip
an elm branch
with both hands,
and the morning mist
smells of wood smoke.
Crows taunt each other
over jagged cornhusks,
while we leave our child
struggling
to form an “S”
with a thick pencil
away from us.

You and I trudge home
across parched fields.
Crickets whir down
from the weight
of autumn sadness.
I catch your sideways glance.
As softly as a butterfly
alights on a fingertip,
skin touches skin.
Another piece of myself
shines from behind your eyes,
and enough of summer remains
to warm the rolling seasons.

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