Rebecca Ball Rust

a dry maple leaf
rattles across the patio
smell of rain
first day of fall
the snuffed candle's last wisp
spirals crazily
Halloween pumpkin
beyond the flickering grin 
the stars
stepping on something
slippery in the ocean
clouds scatter
living nativity 
the donkey flicks his ear
in new snowfall
in the headlights 
all the black snowflakes
suddenly white
frozen pond 
a lone skater spins
around the moon