Autumn is here, rustling all of the leaves
Soon ’twill be time to take care of the eaves
Last time we didn’t, we paid a big price
The eavestroughs were clogged, a magnet for ice
~~
And speaking of leaves, I’ve had cause to wonder
Why don’t they stay near their trees over yonder?
Why does the wind blow them into our place
Why, when around them is so much free space?
And speaking of wind, there’s a shutter gone loose
Far up near the roof, nearly high as the spruce
And if it should fall, it may land on our heads
Or just fly away as we sleep in our beds
~~
And speaking of beds, there’s the garden to tend
And errors we really must hasten to mend
Those wild strangling vines and the tough creeping Jenny
You put up with one and you end up with many.
~~
And speaking of errors, that tree we bought little
Has outgrown its place — but is fit as a fiddle
Too big to dig up but too nice to chop down
Which leaves us between both a smile and a frown
~~
And speaking of digging, some pesky wild thing
Has me gathering stones, and I’m ready to fling
It’s digging our daffodil bulbs from the soil
It’s making a mockery of all our hard toil
~~
“You terrible wretch!” all my dignity’s lost
(Those bulbs must be planted before the hard frost)
“You do this once more and I’ll wring your foul neck!”
But Squirrel just smirks and says: “What the heck?”
Cynthia Reyes.
Cynthia Reyes 
Yeah, I think I’ve read your delightful poem before. But it still made me laugh as much. 😀 Thank you sharing it again. Enjoy the season!
I’m glad it made you laugh again, Khaya! Must come visit you soon. thanks for visiting.
I enjoyed your light-hearted take on my husband’s autumn-induced angst. 😉
Haha! Lovely to hear from you, Liz, and I’m due a visit. Soon!
Hi, Cynthia! I hope you’ve been doing well.
Tee-hee! What the heck, indeed.
Thanks for the smiles Cynthia! I’m delighted to see a poem from you, especially this whimsical poem/story. 😍 Happy Autumn!
So much to write about in Autumn; ask any squirrel. I enjoyed your poem, Cynthia. It’s like you visited my yard, and got right inside my head. 🧡
I love this poem. I was just thinking that you haven’t blogged in a while. It is always good to “see” you.
happy smiles here!
I read this poem twice (so far!) because it is so wonderfully composed. Well done!
A wonderfully delightful well-crafted poem
Lovely poem!
Oh, what a fun poem, but I do feel your angst. 👏🏻
Very clever word smithing!
Your poem makes me think of my garden (excepted for the shutter ) . We have also squirrels !
Beautiful poem for the season, Cynthia.
Love ❤
Michel
Your poem made me laugh so much, Cynthia! I think everyone of your list of chores has been discussed in this house too and squirrels and deer and their incursions and the damage they cause . . . ugh! 😀
Hi Clare: Glad the poem made you laugh. There’s homeownership in early autumn for ya.
A beautiful light-hearted poem, Cynthia! I also had bulbs dig up by something, though we don’t see many squirrels here. Perhaps Mr. Chipmunk was busy at work? And there are always plenty of deer to confound us. 🙂
Mr. and Mrs. chipmunk, the little wretches! We have a fence so the deer don’t come up the valley to our back garden, thank goodness. Nor do the bear or coyotes – yet.
The squirrel has it right in terms of a stress-free life I guess 🙂
Although they look like they’re working very hard at this time of year.
True!
I love this Cynthia. For some reason you have disappeared from my blog feed and I haven’t seen your posts for ages. Lovely to find you again.
It’s always lovely to drop in on you, my friend. I’ve done little blogging in the last 2 years. Little writing, for that matter. Have been dedicated to helping with our grandbaby – now a toddler. I will be trying again in the weeks and months ahead. thanks for visiting my blog and liking the post.
It is good to keep in touch. Lucky you; what a delight to have a grandchild to enjoy.
They can be frustrating, those little squirrels – problem is, they’re so damn cute. Around here, it seems that it’s the moles who eat the bulbs; squirrels seem to be just caching their nuts. Happy Thanksgiving, Cynthia!
Yes – their cuteness and need to survive do get in the way of getting too mad at them.
Hi. Here in southeast Pennsylvania, plenty of trees still have plenty of leaves on them. I can’t recall this being the case to this extent before. Is the scenario similar where you live?
It was that way this year – the leaves stayed on longer. I have always wishes for an extended early autumn – though this year, while loving it, I also heard the drumbeat of the climate change conference and warnings.
I LOVE this poem, Cynthia. Besides being well-written and smart and witty, it speaks to my experience also. And our squirrels also took our bulbs away. Urgh!! When we yell at them, they climb up the trees and laugh in loud chatter back down at us.
I sometimes wonder what the little wretches are thinking. then I try to remember we are all God’s creatures. But in my younger days, I might have thrown a large pebble in their general direction.
Haha. I have become “friends” with those in our yard. If you can’t beat them, join them. But I must admit, I want their friendship more than they want mine. 🙂 🙂