Shhhhh ...

Shhhhh ... autumn has begun to whisper, soft, & occasional, like a baby's burps -- sweet and milky. Opaque air & summoning breezes, silky instead of scalding. Hesitant green still on the leaves, now worn like a jacket, something soon to be abandoned for their starched brown coats. The sky is crocheted by clouds from the north, or else it is bare & revealed. I can inhale again.