Seasoned

Hello, sweet autumn—
your falling leaves kiss my skin
like cinnamon ground
to dust, like a bitter root
mellowed by a dash
of sugar, you sprinkle all-
spiced flavors in my mug. Shh,
listen, the water's rolling
rumble—taste winter brewing

© 2017 Nortina Simmons

*The choka is a Japanese poetic form that follows the pattern of alternating lines of five and seven syllables, with the last two lines having seven syllables each (5/7/5/7/5/7…5/7/7). It varies in length—the shortest can be nine lines, while the longest can be up to 150 lines.