In that trick of the light
when the sun-glazed maples
on the opposite bank
multiplied their gold
in watery waves
on the river’s surface
that the current did not,
could not carry off–
everything, everything rang yellow,
rang me in.

What are they doing flooding the woods with their fury of color?
Blazing a warning? Applauding another
earthly turn, another round of seasons done?

Or is it one last love-making with the sun -
yellow to howling yellow, gold matching gold,
as the leafless time of diminished light begins?

Sally Kuzma is grateful to have been published in the Summer 2021 edition of Bramble. It encouraged her to continue to connect with fellow poets through readings at the open mic events of Tabi Po in Milwaukee, the annual Woodland Pattern Marathons, and collaborating on self-published small books. For over twenty years she lived, worked, and wrote in Milwaukee between the river and the lake. These bodies of water were her neighbors and companions through seasons, years, and upheavals, including a recent change that sent her to New England where she now lives.