Orange and Black

It is autumn again

The time of year when everything looks beautiful while it's dying

I met my first lover in the autumn

He was colder than the first frost

All of my grandmothers died in the autumn
(and I was blessed with several)

For one of them, I used to plant bulbs this time of year

Out by the hack-berry tree in the circular drive

She would watch me through the kitchen window

When I came inside, smelling of damp earth,

and Irish Springs
(because I read that soap would keep the squirrels away),

She would smile and say she could hardly wait

To see my beautiful flowers in the spring

She knew I had bad luck

And a brown thumb

And not one bulb I ever planted ever bloomed

The squirrels would dig up their carcasses
and leave them scarcely gnawed in the snow

But she maintained hope for me

Until the day she died

It is autumn again

I already feel colder than the first frost

How will I make it through another winter?

Let me love you this autumn

Please, let me love you

Even though I'm as barren as the patch of dirt by that hack-berry tree

And no seeds in my heart have ever bloomed

Let me plant one in you

Look at me- worn-out and full of sorrow
and smile

I will make motions of hope again

I will believe in them

If you just tell me you can hardly wait to see

my beautiful flowers in the spring