[Rick Mullin]

Hi Christine,

This is great! I want to show it to poets I know who believe one simply doesn't write rhymed verse in this day and age.

I like how each stanza begins with the simple premise. And your descriptions are quite beautiful--natural depth of observation and a presentation of the life energy evident in the dying year. The garden description is really good, and the wind's pressing hand against your back... Excellent.

No nits,
Rick

NB, responding to David's concern regarding the rhyme, I would call it quiet rather than basic, but I think that suites tone and the sense of the poem perfectly. I look for connections of meaning in rhymes and I find them in land/hand/sand in the context of the stanza.