Her soft brown skin
Is barely visible
Beneath her adornment.
She prepares in a happy splash of colors
For sleep,
Offering sweet memories of summer.
A token of consolation
For the winter now not far off.
She yawns in mild fall breezes
And adorns the sunrise and sunset with fiery beauty.
The lake is quiet now,
The roar of summer gone.
Intimate, almost holy.
Listen closely and hear the trees whisper
And hear her reply.
Feel the sun reassure
For while the endless cycle repeats
And the sap ebbs only to flow again in spring,
The wonder is that
She shines brilliant with the seasons.
Making each of us a leaf, blazing with color,
Knowing that spring will return.
So we shine and contribute our part of her pallet,
Thinking sweet memories of summer, while
She yawns in mild fall breezes.