A Poem Originally For My Mom On Her Birthday

September 25, 2013

FYI, Mom, this is not a comment on age, it's just a reflection of what I was looking at.

I Hear No Voice in Autumn’s Wind

I hear no voice in Autumn’s wind,

No fire in leaves I spy,

The trees like sentinels have stood,

But weariness adorns their wood;

Their rest is drawing nigh.

As days grow tired near their end,

As eyes begin to close

Well before the stars appear,

So an empty sigh I hear

As Autumn’s chill wind blows.

The lake grows colder every day,

And mists arise at night.

I smell the water on the breeze,

With dusky scents that come from trees

And geese’s southern flight.

Evening light takes daylight’s place,

For Winter nearer draws;

The squirrel’s fur is twice as strong,

And well he knows the silent song

That trembles ’neath his claws.

I hear no voice in Autumn’s wind;

Instead a fading sigh.

An emptiness is everywhere,

Between the trees and in the air;

Winter is drawing nigh.