Kyle Braun

Scenes of the Fall

On a chilled morning,
under a grey canvas sky,
I stand and watch through my window. 
Without a chirp
or a breeze,
winter’s creeping fingers
paint and pluck the summer leaves.
Gold and red
spill and spread
over a palette of fading green. 

On a chilled morning,
under a grey canvas sky,
I lie and look through my window.
The furnace, humming low,
lulls me back to sleep.
But as I close my eyes,
a dark scene
is painted before me.
Oh how the beauty of fall would fade
without the promise of spring. 

The Stag and the Winter Wood

A white sky
watched over the winter wood. 

In that great forest of the North,
the pines were donned with snowy cloaks.
Maples and oaks
silently cradled hoarfrost.
Chickadees and sparrows
had long turned south with chilled wings.
Muffled by an afghan of snow,
the winter wood waited
for the icy crunch
of hooves. 

Weaving between the trees,
a stag
ambled through the winter wood.
His shoulders were tall and broad.
His antlered crown
spread wide.
He moved with grace past the firs and cedars,
never once dipping his proud head.
Every branch bent and bowed
as he passed. 

For how long the forest had awaited his return
was unknown,
for in the motionless winter wood,
time seemed without boundary.
Each day
was as long as a life-age of the earth.
But as the stag moved through the wood,
winter
and even time
loosened their icy grip.

Grass
pushed through the snowy ground.
The hemlocks
dripped as they stretched their limbs,
finally free of their frosty burdens.
The loons
returned home on warmed wings
and the air filled with song.
The forest once again
danced with light and life.

The stag pushed further
through the wood,
past the blooming honeycrisps
and snowy lady’s slippers
until finally
the thicket of the forest faded.
He stepped into a wide clearing,
where at the center stood a rebellious structure
of stone
and steel. 

The hope and joy found in spring
were soon lost.
Darker
machinations
were at work.
An ominous lifeform
now occupied the wood.
Black smoke rose from a tall column
and stained
the sky. 

About Kyle Braun

Kyle Braun is a graduate student in English at the University of North Dakota. He grew up on a farm in northwest Minnesota and enjoys spending time outside. When Kyle is not studying or teaching, he likes to play guitar, read, and write.