02 Nov Golden Locust by Susan Dworski
and look up into the autumn foliage,
you might think you’re staring
at an August night sky by the lake,
so surrounded are you by luminosity,
but centered inside a room of mirrors,
finding your reflection flickering around you,
a thousand oval flames against the blue.
Today no sound stirs the late October air,
no sparrows spill their chatter within this space.
Only a quiet breeze breathing
the golden leaves into motion,
and the faint buzz of the cosmos
offering one last rapturous moment
to hold you through the long winter
until Spring begins its leafing-out.
And soon, amazed, you’ll find yourself
back inside the heart of things.
About the Poet
Susan Dworski Nusbaum is the author of the full-length poetry collections What We Take With Us (2014), Open Wide, The Eye (2016), Alive in This Place (2019) and This Uncertain Voyage (2024), all published by Seattle-based Coffeetown Press. This poem will appear in her forthcoming Sign Language, to be release in August of 2026 by Finishing Line Press.
Born in Rochester, and a graduate of Smith College and the University at Buffalo Law School, she lives in Buffalo, where she has worked as a teacher, arts administrator, and criminal prosecutor.
Related Event
- The Literary Café Series at the CFI will feature poets Susan Nusbaum and John Burroughs reading from their work on Wednesday, November 5th at 7:30 p.m. at The Center for Inquiry, 1310 Sweet Home Rd. in Amherst, NY. Ryki Zuckerman is the curator and host of the series. The event is free and open to the public
The Poem of the Week feature is curated by literary legacy awardee R.D. Pohl.