The longest clouds follow late November
The longest clouds follow late November—
So it seems this afternoon.
November clouds are ominous,
Somber, and laconic;
They are soundless, like hours in a day.
These clouds steal away in gray,
Moving in the direction of the winter night.
These gentle, fragile, messengers
Glide like sleds in December
And descend—like a white arctic owl
-To the silence of the open fields.
In this world of freezing rains and arctic winds,
The sun rays barely penetrate
These twisty visitors of the Northwest—
Autumn clouds follow forgotten paths
That disappear from sight into the woods.
Clouds can see beyond—around the pines;
They have eyes meant to see beyond the turn,
As the road slips away beneath the evergreens.