Incorrigible

Not an autumn passes that one branch or another cannot wait to turn color. It always seems maples are involved, but never the same tree. 

Incorrigible

Back of the cabin

breathes a full grown maple

who streaked some branches

crimson red.

Tosses them

to contrast her birthright green.

Flouts her defiance 

before old firs and hardwoods.

Not for her

the group makeover in October,

marching lockstep to winter.

Rather, a rebel's sauciness

before shortened days and north winds

bend her will.

Marilyn Aschoff Mellor

Promoters Set Pretty Scenes

As a child on vacation local kitsch fascinated me. Some of it still does, truth be told. 

Promoters Set Pretty Scenes

Snow Globes gracing gift shop shelves

create winter's spin without the wind.

The firs do not bend or suffer rusty branches,

and neither people nor cars nosedive on ice.

And unlike blizzards the squall flakes out

in seconds.

Desert Globes sizzle like Southwest fry bread.

Sand swirls over imitation cacti and small

plastic skulls. No water worries, no vehicles

pancaked by a sky full of grit, no dirt creeping 

under sills. And unlike dust storms the brownout 

fades fast.  

City Globes boast iconic buildings, flourish

in Visitor Centers. An illusion of grass painted

somewhere. No small figures seen panhandling

nor sleeping under bridges. No swirling fog,

no snow, no parched earth. And unlike the others

only clear vistas on pristine streets.

People will buy anything.

Marilyn Aschoff Mellor