Disengagement

Nature has delivered her notice.
All too often oblivious of her presence
suddenly days are shorter, colder,
cloudier, windier, rainier. Urbanites
shrug, accommodate the inconvenience,
take little note of the natural world
while gardeners mourn the desolation
of their change-sensitive dying gardens.
Those attuned to Nature listen at night
for the haunting sounds of migrating
birds navigating dark skies, wistfully
observe the swiftness of dusk,
early morning fog and frosted rooflines.
When Autumn's long weekends arrive
highways are flooded with hysterics
travelling on primitive impulse to
woodland trails, whimsically wandering
among the trees releasing foliage to
the forest floor, hearing above the call
of geese flying in ordered formation
escaping northern routes for southern
migration. The wonder of a creature
as minuscule as a hummingbird, a
butterfly, responding to Nature's existential
survival compulsion facing the elements;
their valiant struggle to prolong life.