good to think maybe two three steps ahead

now at the end of the mating season

young men lean and confident and teasing

lay down near the girls on the grass in their summer clothes

on the field where the daisies push up and corn leans tall

deer play on the meadow adjacent to the highway

all living things in their prime before the dawn

of the dying season

on some places on this earth true

the florid season seems to last forever

fruit seems to stay lush and ready

warm winds seldom change direction

all things conspire to mask

the falling and the turning and the ending

and in other places true

the sun burns day after day after day

and brings no hint of the collapse of the light

and the drop of the veil which holds back the sun

revealing the face of the night and the brooding moon

follow the way of the old  warrior tree

though you’ve felt the same rhythms maybe a hundred times

hear the last call maybe two three steps ahead

like all things moving towards ultimate goals

be like the old tree ready when the time is up

when the winds change and cool down the sky

and the birds take their singing south

and the deer lay down in search of sleep

warrior tree knew when his time was up

though he’d felt the same rhythms maybe a hundred times

willed his leaves to color and fall

slipped easily into the arms of the dying season.