autumn colours, ever changing
bark that roughens, boughs that sway
shrouds of amber, always ranging
leaves cascading far away

skies are grey and clouds are hasting
chilly is the steady breeze
flower meadows slowly wasting
just before their blooms can freeze

autumn comes, affects, transmutes
autumn goes, without salutes
come and gone like a stillborn's breath
come and gone like the thought of death

briefly does the autumn dwell
unveiling our mortality
reminds how only time will tell
what is, what was, and what will be

November 2020