`
hold back the spiteful
frigid breath of winter
for just one more day,
to celebrate the dazzling
bronze and ripe lime
autumnal hues spread like
a gypsy frock fanned out
around our feet,
November air hangs damply
rich with the earthy musks
of fungi, wisps of curling
woodsmoke and feint alien
tang of burnt orange rind,
time is measured rhythmically
by the steady woodpecker’s knock
the season’s closure is at hand
*
© Graham R Sherwood 11/26
