Norwalk in the Fall

Years that come and go
          —through Harlem
on a train out to Norwalk
           in the late Fall of 1976
the lakes brimming with sunlight
           the trees decked
in richly variegated
           copper tones
the air dry and cool
           unbreathed

Chicago singing on the radio
           If you leave me now
met by my father’s second cousin
           her hair the deep rust
of autumn leaves
           her house in a clearing
in the forest
           her voice soft in the silence
my heart aching
           for a lost love

John Lyons