1

I drain the mug

as if it held

all Grace, all Joy.

2

Orioles gather,
plotting autumn.

3

Women walk around Harvard
in open-toed shoes,
each toe with its own Ph.D.

4

Green leaf-rustle.
Do they hear it, can they,
the politicians?

5

These round flowers
bloat and flare and burst,
mute fireworks.

6

Slowliest, days shorten.
September, be quick!

7

Sun's brute blaze.
I'm not fond of you,
schoolyard bully.

8

Mill-town Basho,
wine-mellow, Zen-sozzled,
see you on the road.