JOAN MAZZA

At the Peak

Today the fall colors are at their best,
orange and russet and gold translucent
in afternoon light. Cold front slams into
warm and the winds pick up. Trees shake their tops
like warning fingers in our faces. Peak
of autumn foliage, we say, unless
tomorrow red oaks are redder, beeches
more gold. These woods could have been painted by
Renoir, Monet, or Camille Pissarro.
In a few days, we’ll speak, The peak has passed.
Assessment only after it’s over.
That was the peak, the best, we say, our trust
in memory, the judgment of hindsight.
For now, how perfect. How lucky I am.

Joan Mazza worked as a microbiologist and psychotherapist, and taught workshops on understanding dreams and nightmares. She is the author of six self-help psychology books, including Dreaming Your Real Self (Penguin/Putnam). Her poetry has appeared in Atlanta Review, The Comstock Review, Potomac Review, Prairie Schooner, Slant, Poet Lore, and The Nation. She lives in rural central Virginia.

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