The friendly scent of burning wood
comes to me on the chilled October air
as my breath billows visibly before me.

Leaves, bright living tapestries, sway gently,
in raw, colorful contrast to torn-cotton clouds,
as the pink twilight-sky darkens quickly to black.

Bright pinpricks of light pierce night’s shade,
marking the locations of stars a million years ago,
and I stop to admire this long out of date map.

I stand alone in an ever expanding universe,
in the dark, filled with myriad questions;
content, for now, to enjoy this Autumn evening.