Late Growth

When summer transitions

autumn leaves emerge

then gently fall and form

soft carpet underfoot

Surprising then

Is all the life expressed

By the cryptomeria and european hornbeam’s

Resistance to the aging process

To them, the journey to winter is no cortege

They believe in life that never ends

I am often asked

‘What will you do in retirement?’

This is my reply

‘I will follow the examples of which I just wrote;

For I, too, embrace the idea of late growth.’