leaves

Once golden yellow,
Now a crunchy mottled tan.
Breeze lifts leaves aloft.

*****

The time of blazing colors
Passes into patches
Still-clinging tenaciously
To familiar limbs

Once green, tender
Glossy, pliable
Gently shimmering
On the branch

Now scratchy, desiccated
Drained of vibrance
Yet announced by
Crackling presence

Children pile
And leap
And laugh
And pile again

Grown-ups
Rake and bag
Bag and rake
Clearing the green
While one final leaf
Releases itself 
At last

Tonight we’ll share
Mulled wine and cider
A warm fire
And stories in the dark