Yosemite's Ephemeral Autumn Falls

Yosemite’s Ephemeral Autumn Falls Bald giants of swift water smoothed pale granite Mark deep clefts for tumbling summer snowmelt Rush released from frozen streams once frostbit Silver swells - Ribbon Falls in pure ice melt - Ephemeral streams slowed beneath Orion’s belt. Thin tulle mist from autumn’s gossamer Bridal Veil Flutters, bathing stony arms embrace of Royal Arch, Quaking Aspen in Alder Creek covers Misty Trails Witness near the Staircase wildflowers parched - Golden leaves on steep slopes from the western larch. Sheer barren faces only seep crystalline tears As rivers flow to shallow autumnal rivulets And Fire Falls wait for wintery floods to reappear When somber quartz welcomes new Cascades reset Catching torrent tides, flashing in a fiery sunset. Wild Cat eyes the Sentinel in thirsting, dried up rills That thinly coat plutonic rock in a glacial train Only a trickle floats lazy scarlet sent over these hills No tumbling drops tickle Waterwheel to turn with rain While Snow Creek laments in narrow runnels refrain. No gushing rivers plunge in roaring thunder veils Nor scramble down Yosemite’s plainly marbled face Scant silvered dews spill over on Nevada’s trails For soon the breathing winter storms many falls erase Till joyful spring redeems autumn in this magic place. A tribute to the magnificence of Yosemite during autumn.