Before the first snow of fall

Before the first snow of fall
my students couldn't help picking
baby caterpillars from the playground,
skipper butterflies couldn't help sniffing
the last mums and roses in my garden,
the squirrels couldn't help digging
the tulip bulbs I buried deep for next spring
(when they have enough nuts for winter),
the sparrows couldn't help playing
hide and seek in the naked bushes,
the bugs couldn't help foraging
for the last sweets and proteins of summer...

Ah! Before the first snow of fall
we couldn't help basking in the sun
and rolling on cracking leaves and twigs,
for all these lives and colors will come to rest
and back again before they are missed.
Jamison/10/15/2010