An Autumn Elegy
of a Fading Season
The wind blows
shaking the trees
like a sad song
for autumn's goodbye
There is still one leaf
holding stubbornly to the branch
its red color
a fading promise
The sun like a pale eye
looks down with watery light
its warmth a ghost
a faint call to the cold air
My breath is white
and quickly disappears
a scary sign
of what is to come
The smell of burning wood
is weak and cold
like a fading story
of things that happened long ago
An acorn hits the roof
making one lonely thump
like a bell ringing
to mark the end of a time
My joints hurt
telling me that the cold is coming
there's a bad taste in my mouth
and a feeling of sadness
A crow's dark voice pierces the sky
a sharp promise
that all light will turn to dark
The sky cries blue tears
that turn to gray
darkness takes over the world
where flowers once were
The cold like a steady hand
pulls its final cover close
every sound swallowed
by the empty crowd
The world is a graveyard
waiting for winter to take over
and I a living reminder
of what has passed
accept the pain
of what is coming
About the Creator
Tim Carmichael
Tim is an Appalachian poet and cookbook author. He writes about rural life, family, and the places he grew up around. His poetry and essays have appeared in Bloodroot and Coal Dust, his latest book.
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Comments (3)
What wonderful descriptions. I felt like I was experiencing the end of autumn along with this lonely red leaf. Very well written!
This one gets me excited because of how good it was starting to sound. My brain is happy with that one stubborn leaf still holding on. It's colour happened to be red, how lovely 😍 A pale eye. I've never heard that one before. But an original line like this, gets all my praise. Love love love. The lonely thump of the acorn. Damn. The crows dark voice. You're making me scared of the coming winter. Every sound swallowed by the empty crowd. How is it that I can see hear and feel this line... 😲 Accept the pain of what is coming. This was honestly very moving. 🤗❤️
A wonderful piece, you can see and taste the autumn wind. Autumn is such a wonderful season for writing, there is so much going on sensorially. This section, perfection. "An acorn hits the roof making one lonely thump like a bell ringing to mark the end of a time"