Autumn Dunes
Indian summer succumbs to cool morning mist.
Sun burnt chaparral transforms to scarlet and orange.
Pearly everlasting complies with seasonal change,
exchanges green foliage for autumnal gold.
Miniature red berries appear among drying ruins.
Sticky monkey flames overshadow silvery sage.
I approach September’s familiar portal,
traverse a threshold of seven decades on earth.
Ahead, gray fog delivers delicate drizzle,
melds with low clouds, sullen ocean.
Moving slowly and with care for aching bones,
I contemplate coming endings, beginnings.