Autumn - and the trees are drying up.

They may seem golden and impress our eyes

But inside the sap is thinning out

And every leaf shrinks back until it dies,

Drops off and rots beneath our feet.

Each tree protects itself so that next spring

Its resurrection simply goes to show

That natural continuity will bring

Again fruit to the earth and life will run

As if nothing can halt its endless flow.

But I, meanwhile, stagnate and as I lose

My hair, my teeth, my hearing and grow

          Each day a little less than I once was

          No spring can renew what I have lost.

Brian Hick October 2009

©copyright Sally Hick 24.10.22