autumnsong

i missed you today.

there was a tree in the park

turning dusky red around the edges

but wildly shimmering gold within

i wanted to tramp and dash

through the crispy leaves

with your fingers twined in mine

but you had not yet arrived

so i drove on by

to lunch alone and listen to the silence

of an empty house in afternoon

i imagined — or tried not to imagine —

you sitting somewhere missing me

with an equal degree of contented confusion

wistfully wondering how long your hands

would be cold.