Autumnal Baptism

Finding a damp spot
Amidst the sunny shards of light

Sliding into my Adirondack chair
The closing of the summer treatise
The embarking of the shorter days
I linger


Retrieving peace with projection
of laboring
the frosted wood to the hearth
of layers of clothes binding me
into my winter cocoon

Facing the newly risen sun
the front of my body releases and unwinds
absorbing each ultraviolet morsel
they fan out like flaked coconut
so sweet, so light and tender

This dusting of warmth wedges me
deeper into the chair

I dare not nestle too deep
The chair has already raised its grain
from the dew and sun beaten summer months
Its legs grow socks of mossy lichen and dampness
draws its tendrils northward

My back is cool with whispers of wind sweeping
from the surface of the lake
The sloshing of waves by wind
Not from the wakes of the boaters or the children's
laughter long lost from the shore

I am sandwiched in the thoughts
I am sandwiched between warmth and coolness

Memories of past
Anticipation of tomorrow
Baptism, my immersions
Between seasons leaves me barren in motion

I will emerge in the spring
Wash the Adirondack chair and oil its separation
in preparation of lounging , conversation and laughter

For now, my chair and I rest
Between seasons in autumnal
bouyant posture
Between layers of expectation