First Week of Fall

Elisa A. Garza

February 2, 2025

I hear conversation, then see 

the squirrel, now quiet 

and still, atop the fence boards.

Cardinal’s melodious answer

sends my eyes to a pink tangle

of crepe myrtle blossoms,

bird hidden in sun’s glare.

Squirrel rasps in reply,

voice a loud quacking.

The heat has not waned.

Maybe that is what they discuss,

or the abundance of deep red

magnolia seeds bejeweling the grass,

pears softening, pecans pushing off

their outer pods. Cardinal trills,

I walk on, praising the day.

Elisa A. Garza is a poet, editor, and former writing and literature teacher.  Her full-length collection, Regalos (Lamar University Literary Press), was a finalist for the National Poetry Series.  Her chapbooks include Between the Light / entre la claridad and out in 2025 The Body, Cancerous (both from Mouthfeel Press).