October in West Texas

October in West Texas
by Mandy Doerr

It's autumn in West Texas
The leaves are still on the trees
But pecans are ripening underneath
The cotton fields are still dark green
It will be another month before
The white fiber bursts from brown pods
We can still pick apples from the orchard
Filled with dancing viceroy butterflies
The horny toad knows
The nights are getting cooler
They no longer scurry before me
As I walk across the empty fields
The lizards have also disappeared
With the coming of cicada screams
In a few weeks
The leaves will quickly turn brown
And fall from their trees
As the dust blows them away
November brings a whiteness
A snow that will not melt
A snow of waste cotton
Escaping the harvesters
On the West Texas wind

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