My favorite time of year is here—those fleet days when the Upper Delaware River region is ablaze with flaming foliage as summer fades, before the lush local landscape is stripped of its breathtaking brilliance. 

Multi-talented Wayne County, Pennsylvania artist, Marlaina Donato, a painter, poet, writer, photographer, musician, composer and author of 15 books, captures the essence of this special time of year in her poem, “Autumn.”

Learn more about Donato’s work and her deep appreciation for the natural world at www.wildflowersandwoodsmoke.com. Opt outside at every opportunity to gather up the glory of the season before it is gone.

Autumn
After the fields are combed and the orchards are bare,
Autumn tarries with tears in her eyes.
She stains the forests with her auburn hair
And blows out the fireflies.
Her hands ache from harvest labor, and she longs for sleep.
Adorned in the amber of October fires,