Dear friends, Hope you are all doing well. Last night I was biking to Dupont circle with the express intent of grading papers in between sips of a warm beverage. But on this night it was so pleasant and refreshing to be outside that I ended up biking around the area for about half an hour. These are the lines that popped up in my head while my feet were pedalling aimlessly away. Hope you enjoy reading them. Yours, Sankar Autumn Night in Washington 11/9/2008 Couples on eighteenth street. One hand in coat pocket, the other holding hands. The cool breeze against my face carries my mind along to a distant freedom. On massachusetts avenue dry oak leaves scurry along the ground. The Mahatma ponders the next step His leaning frame shivering in the cold While across the street Tomas Masaryk, stands tall and stern, Secure in his heavy winter coat. Lonely trees sway on the sidewalk Fighting with the wind to hold on to the remaining leaves. Feast your famished eyes on the sights of this autumn night It doesn't get much closer to heaven. Don't fight with the wind, brother. The leaves will fall when they will, where they may. In the depths of the cold are born the seeds of the seeds. Winter is near.