Outside summer is dying into fall,
blue daddy petunias sprout ears-
hear the beginning of night chills.
In their yellow window box
they cuddle up and fear death together.
The balcony’s sliding door
is poorly insulated, and a cold draft
creeps in all the spare rooms.

Michael Lee Johnson, poet, Itasca, Illinois.   From Which Place the Morning Rises, and The Lost American: from Exile to Freedom are available at: http://stores.lulu.com/promomanusa. The original version of The Lost American is at: http://www.iuniverse.com/bookstore/book_detail.asp?isbn=0-595-46091-7.   Published in 23 countries.  His web site: http://poetryman.mysite.com.  All of his books are now available on Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_b?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=michael+lee+johnson.  Borders:  http://www.borders.com.au/book/lost-american-from-exile-to-freedom/1566571/.   You-Tube:   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ih5WJrjqQ18.   E-mail: promomanusa@gmail.com.