MINSTREL WEATHER 



aster, mingling with the flamboyant leaves 

 of dwarf oaks and the glistening red seeds 

 of the wild turnip. To make September's 

 pageant the scented, pale petals of spring, 

 the drowsy contentedness of summer's 

 fulfillment and the Tyrian dyes of fall are 

 joined. 



The pallid clematis, in flower along rail 

 fences, still hides the blacksnake, chip- 

 munk, and red squirrel sometimes even 

 the unsylphlike woodchuck but the 

 marshes and the branches of the lakeside 

 pines have felt for days past the brief 

 touch of many a strange bird's feet as the 

 vanguard migrants seek regions of longer 

 days. Finely dressed visitors have come 

 to the blue-berried juniper and the mon- 

 strous pokeweed of the terra-cotta stem. 

 The heron breaks his profound meditation 

 to engulf a meadow frog, for he will not 

 leave until the wild geese "with mingled 

 sound of horn and bells" press south above 

 the watercourses. Starling and blue jay 

 stay awhile to oblige with their clatter to 

 the dawn. The fur has thickened on the 

 woods creatures. 



The blind might hear September in the 

 uproarious arguments of the crow, the 



[52] 



