"Before Autumn's Return"
At river's edge
Dog Days of summer
Holds river life captive
In a muggy, hazy grip
Swirling eddies lie motionless
Fish lay low
Geese get ready to go
Leaves of the locus and buckeye
Turn brown, falling to the ground
Guarded limestone walls
Block the sweet, relieving breeze
Air so hot
It seems to burn
Its summer's last push
Before Autumn's return
Roy L. Nave
Dix River
August, 2007
