Autumn’s First Frost
by John Paul Davis
is a full sixty day later this year
than when it would arrive
when I was a child. Beautiful weather
we’re having, someone said to me two
weekends ago, when I, short sleeves
& bare legs, was walking
through a mild November summer.
Once I stretched a rubber band
too far around a long box
& I could see it get thinner.
Autumn has been like that, lovely
days over & over, too many
& I’m certain the seasons will snap
in two. Today when I could see my own steam
fog the world around me, I relaxed
by three percent. The cold air
like a long-lost lover, touching
me everywhere my skin was visible,
sliding its icy fingers up my shirt,
down my waistband, the flirt,
& I don’t zip up my coat
or tug my scarf tighter, I don’t want
a life that’s just one ride
down a golden escalator
after another. Something in me needs to die,
needs a long moonless night quiet
as a grave & a sharpened
morning wind clean & fine
enough to slice all the way down
to my soul, with the sun
shaking its mane
like always but the pond still ices
over & the air has teeth
but it’s a good bite, a wild bite, a holy bite
& I glory in it, I allow
myself to be peeled open.
John Paul Davis is the author of Climbing A Burning Rope (University of Pittsburgh, 2024) and Crown Prince Of Rabbits (Great Weather For Media, 2017). His poems have appeared in numerous journals including Rattle, MUZZLE, Spiritus, Maine Review, and others. You can find out more about him at johnpauldavis.org, IG/Threads: @john.paul.davis, and BlueSky: @johnpauldavis.bsky.social.