I am cold dawn become perpetual-
A gentle expression of orange-
The smell of wood smoke in the woods-
An action by design eventual.

I’ll court you through the winded boughs of fire,
Down every silent sawdust avenue.
I’ll lay a cool blanket of solitude,
And nudge you with a muzzle of wet briars.

I see darkness above the eyes that sing
And teeth as clean as frozen porcelain-
An empty apparition of comfort-
For I belong to Fall and you to Spring.

And yet, I’ll mount the steps of heaven at morn
To be with you when I return reborn.

Kyle Rene is a recent law-school graduate and soon-to-be attorney who enjoys writing poetry in his spare time. His work has appeared in the University of Virginia’s Semi-Annual publication Meridian. Kyle thanks Professor Herman Asarnow at the University of Portland for helping instill in him a passion for the written word.