In the swamp the maples
already show off their gaudy red dresses.
Cattails stand tall, trying to seem majestic,
but looking like a darker version of the corn dogs
that will be sold at the upcoming county fairs.

The nights now cool, garden growth slows,
even the zuchinni grows at a snail's pace.
Soon all the leaves will turn color
bringing the hordes of tourists
("leafpeepers" as the locals say) to drink in
not only the autumn splendor, but also the cider pressed
from now ripened apples, and sold alongside those corndogs
and at the many farm stands dotting the countryside.

Some people wonder how others can anticipate fall,
a "dying season," they say. But some of us like it,
for its bright colors, the late  multi-colored corn,
and the orange pumpkins in the fields.
And, as summer's heat loses its sway, for the crisp mornings
 (sweater weather) and the cool breezes during the day.

© by Robert Manchester.
Used with the author's permission.