Seasonal Decline

The burnt-bronze of a copse
of beech, the flamboyant red
of the maples, trembling-gold of
birches are autumn-resplendent
among the dark green needles of
spruce, pine and fir. Bright, cheery
haws of Hawthorns swift to shed
their foliage, among the banner-bright
orange-crimson of stag-horn sumac 
for there is no mistaking the season
that has so impetuously overtaken
languid summer, leaving gardens
languishing with spent annuals
even as the forest takes charge
of the season, welcoming the
return of northern birds exchanging
place with their southern-inclined
species, abandoning the frigid
climes of approaching winter,
the last hurrah of butterflies
damselflies and bees
marshalling their final resources
in the life cycle of seasonal decline.