Day’s Lost Hour
Day was losing time
As I turned back the clock
To Central Standard Time:
Last night and tonight closed early.
At 4:49 only Chicago’s outlines
Kept the October light.
Brown leaves turned black
Swirling up the four stories
From the courtyard bushes and higher trees .
Circling outside our window
The leaves fly like blackbirds
Looking for a perch in daylight,
Like pigeons looking for nighttime bed.
Caught by the minute hand
Of the day’s lost hour,
My thoughts disappear
Into the approaching winter.
Steve Heins