August

What would you do

If I turned out the light

Gave the shadows to the room?

We’re all creatures here and I’m curious

How the shapes change when I quit clinging to edges

I fall into you, August

Ease on, into darkness

Where will you go

When you leave this tiny town

Where the fruit litters the ground

I have crossed a mountain pass beside you now

Thrown my arms into an autumn wind that howls

I do not turn away from this easily

August, will you remember me

How could I stay

When summer slips away too fast

And prices rise on the wild west

The northern pines persist to call my name

But I will not return unto the north the same

I swear on the dirt for the rest of my days

I will not forget the valley to which the darkness came