Winter has come
To send me away,
Je le sais.
Mercifully late,
December already
And until this afternoon,
Nothing had changed
Since September.

That’s when the leaves
Turned and fell,
Waiting for the snow
And the cold
That did not come.

The trees might have waited
Another month
Without danger,
But how were they to know?

Something in the long Summer
And Fall
Caught my attention
This year.

We became acquainted like no other year
In recent memory. We became friends
Like no other memory
In recent years.

I spent my afternoons
In the foothills.
Days grew shorter—
There was no helping that,
But what did it matter
When warm days gave way
To warm nights?

Either way, outside was home.
Now the snow only reaches
Half way down
Towering peaks
Looming above the valley below.

I’ve come to the foothills one last time
To say good night
And say good bye.

I’ve pitched my tent
With a view
The place I came to know
In my extended-summer rides
And hikes.

It's peaceful here
In the hollow alone.
The sun's cool glow
Fades slowly from the sky.
I’m breathing slowly now,
Listening close,
Hearing something die,
It echoes inside and out.

I'm sucking in the last whispered memories of summer.
A soft wind in the dry branches
Scrapes them together
And tells of the breeze’s soft breath
Passing through this tiny glade,
The final fatal gasps of a beautiful autumn.

Like with a well-loved friend,
Passing too young into eternity,
I won't leave the death bed until she has gone
Already, a cold rain is falling.

Tonight, everything will change.
Temperatures will fall with the snow
And when the morning sun rises
Behind low, heavy clouds,
My tent will be dusted or half buried in winter
Je le sais bien.