Autumn Transformation

photo © Gary Strader

As autumn returns once the summer is past,

A transformation begins on each tree.

Slanting shadows by the sun are cast,

And the sun’s not as hot as it used to be.

Sunset seems to arrive rather fast.

The changes soon are obvious to see.

The colors of leaves beginning to die

Are like paint drops shaken all around.

The autumn wind that passes by

Sends them tumbling to the ground.

In muted yellow and brown piles they lie,

Then swirl in the breeze with a rustling sound.

Crumbling and settling into the earth,

They peacefully, calmly let their lives go,

But this death is only a part of life’s flow;

Once winter’s sleep ends, it’s a time of rebirth.

Like these leaves that end in a blaze of glory

We experience a rebirth too.

Death is a part of life, it is true,

But praise God, not the end of the story!

© Connie Arnold, 2010