The soup got hotter while the bread grew cool –
I took a break to walk the dog a ways
the new year’s day before the start of school,
and at a trail top, stopped to feed my gaze
more sated than my dinner would fill me –
I paused a bit to memorize the view
of rock and carpet leaf and arching tree
and greens of olive, blue, and golden hue.

The trail curved leftward, downward, out of sight,
a tunnel roofed with leaves and based with earth,
as if it were a passage to the light,
as if it were a channel for the birth
of autumn walkers wrapped in quiet moods,
who savor scenery instead of foods.