Night's Entry

The forest floor has been darkly
varnished by the thunderstorms
that swept violently through the
area yesterday, trees still dripping
the ravined creek running thick with
muck, a faint aura of marsh gases
rising with the mist. The onset of
early fall and the surly overcast
of the sky above the masts of old
conifers has ushered in twilight
translated to gloom within the
forest, as the waning day invites
night to follow, and birds can be
heard softly murmuring their
reassuring twitters as they settle
into dark branches for the night
hours. Finally, as dusk makes way
for darkness, an errant wind
rustles the yellowing foliage of
a smooth-trunked poplar and a hail 
of leaves detach to lazily swirl to the
invitation of the waiting earth.