“End of Autumn”

Igor BurdinMottled colors flutter
like butterflies,
await
the pristine white
canopies —

Wind-parched leaves
mantle the oak-brown
soil with topaz and jasper
above the dormant seeds
of wilted wildflowers —

Hearken to horse-hoof
raindrops,
the muffled fracture
of petioles letting go
at the eleventh hour

when all the coins of time
are spent
and the egrets of winter
alight
upon the emerald cedar
branches.

D. G. Vachal © 2015

Photo credit: Igor Burdin

Let Not the Words of my Silence

Valery Chichkin - At the end of the day

Let not the words of my silence
engulf you with thoughts
that I am gone—

I am here

Despite the absence
of the warmth of my palms
upon your face

I am here—

Though my song is only
palpable in the coolness
of the summer breeze,
caught in the scent
of flowering meadows

I am here

Through the stealthy moments
while the verdant
leaves turn
from emerald to garnet,
topaz to platinum,
silver to earthen dust—

I am here,
I am always here.

by D. G. Vachal © 2014

Photography by Valery Chichkin – “At the End of the Day”

“Love Letter”

by D.G. Vachal

At the end of winter daylight
when lemon passion glows
with the ardor of periwinkle,
at unexpected moments
I remember

a melody long forgotten,
jubilant as a nightingale’s song,
that led my fledgling
heart to soar
towards the blazing stars
once upon the sands of time —

Now, when it matters no more,
I recall the scribbled ink upon the paper,
a voice that called my name,
at twilight’s edge
when my heart beholds the colors,
the warm farewell
of the setting sun.

D. G. Vachal © 2014