The sounds of dried leaves crunching fill your surroundings, as you trample through the forest. The trees are leafless, and a chilling zephyr almost blows your hat off. Winter is just around the corner; it’s time to bundle up.

Savory Fruits

by Foster Lemley

Autumnal belligerent beings,

The squirrèls are keen in their seeing

That being an eater of apples alone

Is life, with which, merit is in disagreeing

The fruitage of summer, of course

Is sweeter than eating the gourds

Which meet with the walnuts and hickories so

The rodents can bode them a trip to their hoards

Now mushrooms, you may think are fungus

Mycelium networks, humongous

Consider the way they are spoken of, though

We label as "fruiting" the body among us

Cranberries are similar to sweeter fruits of fame

Taking up a spheric form, and "berry" in their name

Everybody loves, or should

Love cranberries all the same

As a squirrel would

Why I Love Autumn

by Kara L. Beaver

Fall feels like the best time of the year. 

Autumnal sunsets as comforting as your warm hugs.

The moon shining like your bright blue eyes.

Apple cider sweet like your unintentional lies. 

Fall feels like long walks with you by my side 

Wind whistling like the thought of you in my mind. 

Rainy days spent laughing like children in a park.

Vanilla lattes as warm as my beating heart. 

Fall feels like more than a fleeting moment.

Cobwebs complicated like whatever it is we’re doing.

Apple pie as fresh as your amicable scent.

Conversations over coffee as pleasant as holiday events. 

Fall feels like falling in love

But if fall were a person you’d be the greatest Autumn of all.

Vibrant Leaves

by Caden Smith

Vibrant leaves plucked from trees,

Carried far by the autumn breeze,

Land near a dish of pumpkin pie.

A plate of turkey, on the side.

Autumn's here, it's time for fun.

It brought something for everyone.

The equinox, Oktoberfest,

And a holiday for treats and jests.

The weather's cooling down right now,

As the black cat utters its first meow.

Monsters lurk under beds and bookshelves.

Soon enough, they will show themselves.

Football games on Sunday nights,

Scary movies giving frights.

Apple cider, catching z's,

Photo opportunities.

Eating food and giving thanks,

Throwing pigskins next to mudbanks.

My birthday, in mid-November,

A fireplace with burning embers.

Autumn is a busy time for every animal.

They scurry and they hurry to all places tangible.

Bears enter hibernation, the squirrels stash their food,

The robin leaves her treetop nest and flies south with her brood.

The dogs are playing fetch, and the cats are chasing mice,

While kids are baking cookies with a pinch of pumpkin spice.

Bees tend to their larvae in their nest on the eaves,

The others are having fun; let's jump in vibrant leaves!

An Unlikely Amalgamation of Fear and Desire

by Ace Agbay

Night sky above enveloping all the unlit crevices like water fills every crack.

Lights attracting people to them like cats are by the pungent smell of catnip.

Haunted houses as teeming with blood-curdling creatures as there are wasps in a wasp nest.

Candy as sweet as fresh honey from a beehive.

Kids running towards houses like dogs chasing balls.

Blood coating the Halloween decor like paint coats the walls of a house.

Monsters as ugly as a hairless cat’s wrinkly body.

Ghosts send shivers up people’s spines like fingernails scraping on a chalkboard.

Skulls scaring people more than Pennywise coming out of the gutter.

Pumpkins as large as children are found sitting on people’s front lawns.

Screaming can be heard louder than fire alarms.

Costumes disguising people’s identities like the wings of a peacock butterfly mimics other animals.

A contradictory holiday full of sweets and terrors in equal abundance.

Ugly

by Tyler Dilley 

You have made what was once ugly 

Into something now beautiful

But that is not who I am

I was proud of my decay

How my skin peeled and fell off my face

Because that was me

This beautiful creature is not

The cannibal I am should not be romanticized

I fed off the beauty in the world and off of you

Fed myself, and made art

For what I make may be pretty, but I am not

Oaks alone keep their leaves; them scraping against each other in the restful northern breeze.

   The winds, they come as gales do, yet with none of the intention: hollow and melancholy,

   Nights become colder until numbness overtakes. You can't feel the frostbite on your toes.

Snow Day

by Laney Beigh

I freeze to death,

preoccupied with the future

forgetting to stay in the present.

The chilling thoughts about tomorrow freeze my brain

No winter coat can keep out the cold

Icicles fall from my temples.

The roads of my mind white with the powdery sheet.

The plow begins to clear a path.

Layer by layer, my thoughts are removed

Snow clothes cover the floor,

finally free from my worry,

weight lifted off my shoulders

The future will worry about itself

Perched next to the fire

Hot cocoa in hand

I begin to thaw.

Embracing the Flame

by Depesh Rai

The fire burns bright, a beacon of light,

A reminder of what I must leave behind.

The flames flicker and dance in the night,

A reminder of what I must leave behind.

The heat of the fire warms my soul,

A reminder of what I must embrace.

The smoke rises up, a sign of the toll,

A reminder of what I must embrace.

The ashes of the fire fall to the ground,

A reminder of what I must forget.

The embers glow, a sign of what I have found,

A reminder of what I must forget.

The fire is gone, but the memories remain, 

A reminder of what I must remember.

The flames have died, but the lessons remain,

A reminder of what I must remember.

Drown, Live, Drown, Repeat

by Carly Lewis McKay

The memories flood my mind.

The love,

The loss,

Everything in between,

Gone with the tide.

The tears, too many.

I drown.

I live.

Bound to drown again. 

The rain falls.

I submerge into 

an ice cold awakening.

Alive to 

an ice cold reality.

Pools of diluted salt

soak my eyes.

Too much water.

Not enough air. 

I'm bound to drown again.

Burial for My Old Troubles

by Logan Wright

Each object observed, 

pondered on, and deposited.

College letters, and work left half done,

options I never stopped to consider.

Months of weakness, 

hundreds of pounds of regret off my back.

I’ll only be keeping the shovel,

and the lessons, all else is left tonight.

All left entombed in a simple shrine of dirt.

Burials, not as irreversible as burnings, 

a simple goodbye, no ill will.

I remember my past, 

but refuse it clinging onto me, 

but refuse its destruction.

The Nearest Star 

by Foster Lemley

This night, I was restless, I reached for my lantern

So there it was poured from a bag, made of lambskin:

An oil for midnight which grows with the flame

That attempts to defame its own sustenance

Unsheathing my knife and unwrapping my striker

To hassle with faithless and insolent tinder

And sparks that were equally grating to tame

Even then, every fire is powerless

With that, I was eager to exit my shelter

The blizzard was blinding and blew me all skelter

Though through the white I could see stars all the same

So I stopped and confronted my cowardice

What matters of distance when they are so far?

What matters of power when they are so bright?

What else of good holds the night, tell me one

When even the moon reflects the sun

The gap in the clouds was shut

And yet, there shone a light

Hypocrite

by Anonymous

To my god, my creator, my mother

Are you proud of the fruits of your labor?

The lifeless doll you’ve made

Has now surpassed you

Is she better?

What about the fox?

What do they give you that I cannot?

Discard me because I am too emotional

Yet you give up your new toy for being too emotionless

What a hypocrite

To the swordsmith, my family, my friend

What did you see in me?

This confused creation

No longer wonders why you don’t come back

Was it worth it?

Was I really worth the trouble?

Why do all of it for something that can’t even breathe?

Discard me because I am not like you

Yet you protect me because I am

What a hypocrite

To the child, the one like me, my little fledgling

Why wasn’t I told sooner?

This heartless puppet

Now feels more than ever

Why did you hide it?

Was your illness that important?

Or was it me?

Discard me because you are no longer here

Yet break the promise you made nonetheless

What a hypocrite

To myself, the puppet, the creation, the doll

Is it really alright to wish for this?

Whatever I am now

Is nothing I am sure of

Is it really alright to cry?

Is it really alright to be unnatural?

Is it alright to hold grudges against the dead?

Discard myself because I am weak

Yet I am the strongest person I know

What a hypocrite

Demons

by Caden Smith

Blood trickles from the wounds on my arms.

I feel my life slipping away.

Death by bloodshed has its charms.

Ounce by ounce, day by day.

The cold steel shreds my skin,

A sanguinary paragon.

I feel my demons creeping in

Like rabies in a fawn.

I look up from the cavern I'm in,

Shuddering from fear.

Being buried by my sins,

And watching wraiths appear.

I'm helpless to do anything.

Even if I tried.

To me my demons cling.

Forever remain inside.

They'll always be a part of me

They're like my other half.

Like an apple on a tree,

Or a shepherd with his staff.

I've lost, while my demons win

So I'll wait here 'till I die.

I'll stay here, caving in

Until it's time to say goodbye.

Frosted over minds

   Thawing back to life again

      Flowing with questions.

Shattering My Storm 

by Anthony Cramer

I was born into the storm

A family that was and is tragically torn

Bridges burned and countless rainy days 

Tempestuous turbulence blustering the soul

Until now 

The maelstrom ends here 

There is a break in the clouds 

The torrid rain, the murky water

Is receding

I must steer my destiny through the gap

Shattering the squall of violent impediment 

To see the rays of the shining sun 

To bring peace to being forevermore, 

Then the soul will start to jive.

Do you hear the bells of the ice-cream truck? Maybe the joyful clamoring of children escaping the clutches of schooling? Or, how about the waves of the ocean, crashing upon the sandy beaches? Summer, it’s nearly within our grasp. 

Until The Sun Rises

by Harley Lehman

Until the sun rises

I’ll be sitting here

Gazing up at the stars

Wondering when you’ll appear

How you shine onto the rivers

How you look upon the pier

It reminds me of how beautiful life looks

When you are here

It’s the one thing that does not fade

The one thing that doesn't turn away

When you open up your view

I simply cannot be swayed

Your smile reflected upon the water

Is the only hope that I wish 

That in the moment of Bliss

You will always be missed

I’ve seen you come and go 

I just hope that you know

That I will borrow your light

When you decide to glow

But until the sun rises

When you lost all hope

I’ll be the light during the night

When you decide to go

The stars tell your story

The shapes I see in the sky

Reminds me of how delightful it is

When you decide to rise

Until then I'll be sitting here 

Looking at the north stars

Wondering when you rise 

I’ll always be looking here from afar.