The Declining Canopy

A sweet breeze shifts the 
drying foliage of beech and birch,
maples and oaks on the mountain
slopes. Sudden gusts release
semi-transparent yellow leaves
to finally part with their life
perches as they silently flutter
like resigned butterflies to
gather on the forest floor,
the acrid flavour of their agony
stirring on the breeze. Chickadees
and nuthatches flicker and flirt
in the woods beyond. The rich
burgundy of oak leaves, the 
reds of maples contrast with the 
living blue of a pair of bluejays
their shrill calls reverberating
on the landscape. Acorns and beech
nuts, a harvest for unseen fall
furred gatherers, click audibly
in sharp rebuke to the wind. Above,
gathering clouds ambush the sun
whose light warming rays filter
through the declining canopy.