Autumn Walk in the Park

Deep rivers of crisp fallen leaves
run in an artist’s palette
of yellow ochres, tanned leather browns
and apple reds.
Long-abandoned nests now revealed
in mournful Birch and Sycamore’s
exposed branches set stark
against an ashen sky,
their last few leaves clinging on
like hopeful groupies at the stage door.
Swings in the empty playground,
hang still ... Forgotten.

Leaves twirl and dance
in a whirlwind frenzy
swept up by a sudden gust of wind
that blusters angrily. Birds,
riding the wind, swoop and gather overhead,
chattering and calling.
A fat grey moon hangs low in the east
as the early setting sun dips
in a final show of pinks and purples.
Light falls on a window across the park
and glass is transformed
into a glowing sheet of burnished copper.