Japanese Maple

Fantastic red; a slender figure
Posed zen-like on a stony bank.
Elegant fingers stretching to hold
Those dazzling leaves, startlingly bold;
Leaves held out like painted finger-nails
Refracting a hundred shades of red.
It blazes in the sunbeams;
Seems to radiate light from within.
It, like autumn nature magnified,
Stands as a bright fruit amongst the green.
So, I stand a while, letting my eyes
Savour the sweet feast of lush colour.
Then, retreating from my lucky find,
I chance to look back... Fantastic red.