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Ah, early like that sly turn (or gateway leaving) at the end, Max. A dog apparently is a useful muse…. Doug On Jan 28, 2015, at 9:12 AM, Max Richards <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Happy Fall > > When, out walking, I saw > in the thrift shop window > a metal sign that said > just this: 'Happy Fall' > with a kitschy owl > perched above the double L > > I knew I was in strange > territory. Devotees of > the seasons, back from their > summer break, must need > something before Hallowe’en > set seriously in - out of storage > > come garden and front-porch > clobber, the pumpkins, > the spooky odds and ends. > But first: Happy Fall, > at least for a minority. > Theologians, are they? > > If Adam and Eve hadn’t > brought into the world > all the misery of being fallen, > there’d have been no need > for the Saviour. How fortunate > after all, that mightiest lapse! > > So thinking, I turned for home, > exercised, likewise my dog. > The seasons revolved, > observant householders > varied their decor, saying > to each other Happy Holidays. > > The town was all lit up, > even the building cranes. > Given the advent of not > just Santa but midwinter > solstice, tizzying up > the place with jazzy lights > > made sense as combatting > seasonal affective disorder, > SAD for short. Snow came, > lingered, melted, cleared. > Rain came, and through it all > I walked the dog. Through > > dampening dawns and dripping > dusks, on paths equipped > with stumbling blocks and slipping > spots. Take care! we told ourselves. > And just last week, it so fell out, > our first fall befell us - fortunate! > > It might have needed first aid, > a stretcher and an ambulance. > All it needed was a stifled cry, > a slow-mo spread-eagling, > a gathering in of spun spectacles. > What a spectacle I’d made of us! > > with no one to see, no one running > saying We heard your shout, > are you OK? We’re OK, > we tell the empty street. > The world is all before us, > home not too far away. > > Rejoined by the leather leash, > my dog and I with wandering > steps and slow, down Bellevue > Avenue, take our solitary way. > How was it out? the mistress > asks. Rain…fall...happy, we say. > > [Seattle, WA, USA] > Douglas Barbour [log in to unmask] Recent publications: (With Sheila E Murphy) Continuations & Continuation 2 (UofAPress). Recording Dates (Rubicon Press). that we are only as we find out we are Charles Olson