Autumn fire is the work of dragging leaves, as big as your bright red cheeks, into a mountain
I’m grimly working to bring the biggest pile to life
my black hole
my unhappy childish pursuits-to build a fortress of leaves and disappear inside, and then emerge on the other side of the universe
a reverse me
unconfused, knowing who I am on the other side of the planets
then I will bring me home-sing me home with the stars and hissing rain, back to my fall day to lay down the burden of building an escape
and instead let the mirror-image traveler
explode unrestrained