painted fall

rustic orange. scarlet, and crimson maple;
golden yellow birch and poplar;
fiery red sumac—
the warm, familiar colours of a classic Ontario fall. 

the changes in the valley have been subtle this year,
with only splashes and pockets of colour
in the fields and woods where I walk with Glasgow,
as if someone climbed into the landscape and painted them there
with soft, impressionistic brushstrokes.

but whether soft and mellow, or brilliant and flaming,
it is enough to sustain me
as I pull the colours from the trees
and hold them close to my heart,
because even in its exaggerated beauty,
this is what it feels like to be home
among the changing seasons.