Quill Nook Farm, Vermont

Some October

by Barbara Crooker

Some October, when the leaves turn gold, ask

me if I've done enough to deserve this life

I've been given. A pile of sorrows, yes, but joy

enough to unbalance the equation.

When the sky turns blue as the robes of heaven,

ask me if I've made a difference.

The road winds through the copper-colored woods;

no one sees around the bend.

Today, the wind poured out of Canada,

a river in flood, bringing down the brilliant leaves,

broken sticks and twigs, deserted nests.

Go where the current takes you.

Some twilight, when the clouds stream in from the west

like the breath of God, ask me again.