Come Here

Catch the October Ferry to Gabriola

as Malcolm Lowry did.

Or the Gabriola ferry to October,

where it will greet you with marmalade lanterns,

one for each of its thirty-one shires.

Chestnut perfume and a topaz breeze

will carry you to a tidal pool, whispering:

Throw away your mind;

your wayward thoughts embraced

by fallen leaves the colour of pumpkins & gourds:

tiny faeries rippling to faraway campfires.

Beneath the butterscotch sky, summer’s

leftover rays stir your limbs,

readying them for journeys to the next mystery -

and the next, while deka moon scents the land

with decay and roses, as if to say:

death and life are interlaced,

like gold vines on an emerald lattice.

Lowry died by misadventure.

October beseeches you not to miss adventure.

Because living and dying are not the same thing.

So what if it's your last chance to paint the porch?

And sure, it's time you decided on Halloween togs.

But first let the black-diamond night wrap you

in a cloak made of silver fog and crystal rain.

By the singing of the rads and the howling of the wolves,

take up your broom and land in October.