ghouls

the fall! the fall! my favorite season. with birds and squirrels and cold weather and jackets and the quiet. the rain comes to portland, but the chilly weather makes up for it. all the good fall memories remembered make up for the rain. and everyone has the best luck in the fall. we think of spring as a time for couples, but i think people begin pairing off during the fall: holding hands and linking arms and wrapping up and going home together. and drinks. and hot toddies. and the damp fragrant earth. and the leaves: they always surprise me. i wait and wait and wait and think i'll catch them, but i never do. one day they're just red and fiery and orange and floating.

and the hungry ghosts. the ghosts make me sad, their chill fingers pulling at my clothes, tussling my hair, caressing my face. they demand something, they always take something. but what? i feel like i loose something each year to them, the hungry ghosts. the sacrifice of time.