Serendipity
 

The sloping angle of afternoon
illuminates a meadow, long grasses
glowing before a strand of wooded
shadow, save one brilliant maple:
a study in contrasts.
What naturalist would not dabble
in this landscape? Feathery fronds
bloom everywhere; wild carrot
is topped in white asterisks;
purple asters nestle like gems
in the setting of the field.
You might have missed
the late summer ironweed
lifting dark blossoms head-high,
but now, the meadow has not yet
flattened into a November mesh,
and the entire scene radiates
as a distillation of early October.
You might not imagine a manila
canvas where patches of cream
glint through a broad-leafed backdrop,
but touches of sunlight slant
at a perfect angle
on this autumn afternoon.