The colors, I hope they last.
Me too, Dad. Me too.
Every day. . . I just see the leaves falling from the trees
Yes, Dad. That’s what they do.
I know. But I want them to wait.
Are you talking to them? Letting them know.
Telling them it’s too soon.
Autumn Conversation with My 88-Year-Old Father
Gail Goepfert, associate editor at RHINO Poetry, is a Midwest poet and photographer. She has three book publications—A Mind on Pain (2015), Tapping Roots (2018), and Get Up, Said the World (2020). Recent publications include One Art, The Night Heron Barks, and The Inflectionist Review. She has a collaborative chapbook, This Hard Business of Living, and a book, Self-Portrait with Thorns, is being released in 2021.