autumn for me was always
simply spring rewound
as though the trees
were pulling back their leaves
I rarely got really
excited about it
with haemorrhoids
but now I'm learning how
to smell autumn
as I'm starting to learn my own smell
at the roadside
in the leaves
the honey agaric of memory
the tales dad tells
of plump strands of mycellium
glowing among the trees at night

Maik Lippert
translated by Catherine Hales
German original © Edition Thaleia, St. Ingbert 2007