Rijen *

When leaves begin to fall the Deer comes calling
when the air tastes of rain, the quiet refrain;
After the chestnut trees drop mahogany,
seeding
the forest floor amidst the pungent fungus:
Rijen.

When the world grows too cold for even the coldest
of hearts
and even those sadistic cheeks grow pink in schoolyards
and rush
home to hearths to beat the tick tock towards dusk

the Deer, in low tones, foreign: wisely sings spring
knowing
every second brings us closer to October

every second minute brings minute disclosures
every second rainfall -- mushrooms in the clover
every second man peers over his shoulder as
every second brings us closer to October

* Rijen -- the Czech word for October -- is the sound of the male deer's autumn mating call.

1998