Rain and the death of leaves

Rain and the death of leaves

Fall rains,
f f f
a a a
l l l
l l l
i i i
n n n
g, g, g,
Sometimes soft as mist,
Other times, drumming hard.
Beating the tired leaves
Out of the trees.
Down they fall,
Into spreading carpets
Of oriental red and yellow,
Glowing in the
Dark of the day.
The leaves die,
Dropping each year.
But they rise again
In spring,
In the sap,
Into the buds
Of the new year.
Would that we could
So see our
Death and lives.

Betsy McKenzie. Nov. 13, 2006

Image of golden carpet, gingko leaves courtesy of Kyoto link.

Autumn Leaves

Autumn Leaves

Through long, sweet summer days,
Beneath the green cover of chlorophyll,
Golden, orange and scarlet red
Simmer, banked fires in the treetops.
Autumn frosts snap off the switch;
Photosynthetic factory closed down.
Greens fade, like timer fuses
Burning down on Independence Day,
Until:
Firecracker showers of
Sparking colors
Spiralling
Down
to
Earth.

Betsy McKenzie, Oct. 24, 2006