LATE SUMMER DRIVE

Gravel groans beneath my old truck tires
driving slowly down this remote road
dust plumes rise like double pyres
coating roadside weeds with a gray load

All is a faded worn out green
from thunderstorms and summer sun
but here and there some gold is seen
on poplar tops above duff's dun

I cross a bridge with thick wood floor
above a creek that's nearly dry
with autumn rains it soon shall roar
beneath a cooler wind swept sky

Then I pull to the road side
beneath a giant white oak tree
and pause to watch a red hawk glide
kind of wishing it was me

Next to appear, a humming bird
followed by a monarch butterfly
both to goldenrods are lured
which nod beside a ditch nearby

It's far too hot to leave my truck
so I crank up and head toward home
while hoping with a little luck
I'll next come here when wild bucks roam