Red and Tawny Leaves

Red and tawny leaves

crinkle in the quiet cold

on dark brown branches

The Arc of Autumn’s Breath is a collection of five stand-alone haikus that honor the fleeting beauty of fall leaves. Each poem traces a stage in autumn’s emotional descent—from whispered change to quiet offering.

1. Green and Lemon Leaves evokes gentle motion, when change is first whispered.
2. Amber, Green, and Red captures a flare of color reflected on still water.
3. Copper Leaves and Gold describes the shimmer and surrender of leaves falling to the ground.
4. Red and Tawny Leaves speaks of the last brittle ones that cling in the cold.
5. Maple Orange Leaves reflects the stewardship and offering of gathered leaves, hung on children’s doors.

Together, these haikus form a seasonal arc—unplanned, but revealed—where color becomes memory and descent becomes ritual.