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Cheery-Eyed Jackdaws

Daniel S. Irwin

Cheery-eyed jackdaws screech
The testament of change.
Mother Nature, like a dominating madam
Clad in tight leather and chain,
Cracks her whip bringing the seasons
To heel in submission.
Spent summer yields to
The fickle days of autumn.
Forests burst into a splendor of color
Only to taunt us by slipping into
A dismal, bleak world reminiscent of
A sick mind and a severed ear.

On impulse, I dive headlong into a pile of leaves.
Laughing and thrashing about,
I am shocked back to reality when
Beaten with rakes by angry yard workers.
I had forgotten the second rule of leaf diving:
Thou shalt not dive ‘uninvited’
Into the leaf piles of strangers.
The first rule, I learned the hard way:
Thou shalt not dive into piles of burning leaves.

Damn you, Proserpina!
Could you NOT, at least, TRY
The seedless grapes!

As I stomp on pomegranate after pomegranate,
With the on looking super market night manager
Fumbling with his phone....calling God knows who.
I realize that it was all Pluto’s fault
And swear to kick his ass.
Mickey’s and Donald’s too, if need be.

Autumn...such a difficult time.
But, soon winter will follow.
Full of tomfoolery and too excited to wait for snow,
I pull off one of my shoes.
Pretending it a snowball, I throw it...
Knocking the hat off a policeman.
He is not amused,
But gives me a ride in his squad car anyway.

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