They came down in fits and starts–

Some yellow, some red, some ochre,

Even some green

With dingy browns.

They lay in clusters, in clumps,

In piles, even solo- in rude disarray.

Gone! Gone are days of verdure-

Denuded,divested, dishabille-

The boughs reached out

Splayed twiggy fingers

Into mournful emptiness.

The leaden skies vaulted,

In a dirge of silence,

Above the strewn landscape

Of shorn leaves and hidden sod.

Ebbing! Life’s ebbing moments,

In leafy metaphors, spoke in volumes

The sad tales of waning loves,

Of despair and despondence,

Of the fizzling fights

And of creeping seconds

That dwindle into nothing.

Then, ceasing toil and tremor,

Life lies down in placid content

Waiting for God’s Own Time!

Silver poured out

From the full moonface 

And molten light shone

Upon crinkled waters.

Wind rose above

And tides leapt up,

Tossing the vessel not too gently. 

The wavelets rose in height

And foamed in undulating lines

The walker on the deck swayed,

But stepped briskly forward

While the increasing turbulence

Whipped the long strands

Into a disarray of Medussa hair.

The threads of snakes lashed

At cheeks and eyes,

Clouding sight and sound.

Rocking and rolling,

The vessel sailed

While the passengers swayed

As if mimicking drunken sailors.

The solitary walker forged ahead,

Enduring buffets and onslaught, 

Resolute and firm,

To face another fury,

To face another day-

To face an unkind future.

Mycroft enters

And there is sunshine.

Exuberant and Happy,

This child looks,

His eyes seeking knowledge.

His face wreathed

In joyous smile,

His hand reaches out

To touch my face

With eager fingers

And darting moves

To know me,

To love me.

Thus he enters 

Into my life!

One cannot help

But love

This blithe spirit

Of radiance,

A being that brought

Light into my days

Of pandemic doldrums.

Spring has unhooked

The clasps of winter

After the friendly raindrops

Soaked the gelid  ground.

The gold green of rebirth

Turned to the lushness of summer,

The succulent greens

Foreshadowing the plenitude

Of the coming harvest.

Aureate and rufous,

The leaves blazened the orchards

And the ripening gourds 

Hung down the vines

While the nutshells

Filled with sweet kernels.

Life shifted with time

Marked by the cathedral chimes

And the harvest moon

Shed luminance 

Upon the carpet 

Of browns and grays

Of mud-soaked leaves

On the hardening soil

Going frigid

Under the winterfall .

Snow flurries descended,

Gentle as angel wings

Or as harsh as flying arrows

In icy winds.

Through window panes

As clear as crystal

Or clouded with water streaks

Filtering the sun,

I waited for reawakening,

For another cycle of life.