Our Perfect Autumn Drive

When fall had settled in like a mellow multi-colored cat, purring with contentment in the beauty of its prime, Fall crept past the summer of its youth and sprawled before us. It stretched out in splendid coolness. Yes, fall was a cat of many colors - an orange burnt almost red among patches of sunshine yellow and spicy ginger. Everywhere we looked we saw those brilliant hues. We had decided to drive up to the mountains where October’s trees had begun to flaunt their brilliant new colors. We passed several orchards on the outskirts of the town, seeing apples and pumpkins sold at road stands as our drive progressed to Canyon Road. Suddenly we were struck with wonder by a beauty even more than that of a multi-colored cat. On both sides of us, the colors cat-sprawled across the faces of mountains, and when the wind blew, the trees moved like the waves of a giant ocean. The multi-colored cat had changed into a sea - a sea of marvelously clad colorful trees that rhythmically moved and glistened as if they were indeed an ocean’s waves, color-tossed beneath the midday sun. We spoke few words, for our eyes were filled with fall’s enchantment. When we reached the man-made lake where blue water glistened as vibrantly as had the leaves of the mountain’s trees, we turned around and headed back home, savoring the ending of our perfect autumn drive. Sept.10, 2022 For the Fall Flavors Poetry contest of Regina McIntosh