Finale

the seasons cool

and we quickly put on clothes

unwilling to forsake the

fading freedoms of the summer

and subtle warming musks of autumn,

with swifts and swallows gone

our faces wince as we submit sheepishly

to the furrowed scowl of winter

brittle as newly frosted plough

our languorous body stretches

tighten to knotted shudders

as we turn our backs on

the death throes of another year,

a votive candle of optimism

flickering weakly in bitter

winds of change,

we turn three coins in our pocket

and place our bets with fickle

lady luck, the blind avarice

of better fortune flaring in our eyes

Published by grahamrsherwood