Angry Autumn!

“Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,” the poet wrote. Pshaw!

Originally published on Literally Literary’s Medium site on Sept. 15, 2026.

zzzzz it buzzes
and weaves and winds
in the August breeze
like a ball turret gunner
rat-a-tat tatting in asymmetrical patterns
and suddenly a hive unleashed
circles the air around its target
like all those bomber planes
buzzing King Kong’s head

while skulking on the ground
along the back fence
the small black body and long thin tail
of another rat- a-ttacking something unseen
leaping, lunging, lurching
it slithers back and forth and
into the next yard through the wood
it gnawed open with sharp teeth

while squirrels in full flight
scream and scramble in circles
in lusty chase in another part of the yard
two of them, a late season dalliance
of fierce, sharp-clawed romance
kicking up a whirlwind of leaves
and scratching up the gate

while spiders busy themselves
weaving webs to catch prey
in mid air, nature’s anti-aircraft
they slink and slide
six-legged warriors on the hunt
with venomous intent

while a skunk waddles
spreading its stink and
exhuming chunks of dirt
and feasts on lowly grimy grubs
writhing their last gasps of life

while back in the air
screaming cicadas screeching songs
wind down and dwindle then cry again
endless encores of ear-thrumming exercises

while the crickets echo
their mating calls all night and day
licking the cilia with parched lust

this colourful chorus is a rhapsody
till an angry shade of winter arrives and

buries it all under a symphony of ice and still snow

The reference in the subtitle is to John Keats’s “To Autumn.”

Claudio D’Andrea 2026

Claudio D’Andrea has been writing and editing for newspapers, magazines and online publications for about 40 years and has published a book of short fiction, Stories in the Key of Song. Visit him at claudiodandrea.ca or read his stuff on LinkedIn and Medium.com and follow him on Bluesky.