Stained Glass Shards of Autumn
One yellowed leaf spirals to green grass below
In Alaska’s waning August.
The victim of Winter’s first chilly breath.
Alone, resting on the vestiges of summers’ glory
In Korea’s late November.
A promise of fading light and cooling mercury.
A call to others in similar hue clustered well above
In Seattle’s mid October.
A slow trickle⸺more constant with each rustle of brittling branches.
Younger siblings bitten by cooler polar temps fall
In Yorkshire’s November.
Onto trodden and muddied brothers and sisters below.
Creaking gusts heralding winter’s full arrival
In Tokyo’s parks at Hibiya, Yoyogi and Shinjuku.
Scattered red confetti of the remaining canopy.
The earth’s green is well forgotten
In San Francisco’s December frozen ecosystem.
By amber, citrine and garnet stained glass-like shards
The sun, an oxygen deprived flame, flickering weakly
Vienna’s cold winter fast approaches.
Nights howl icy promises of snow and darkness.
Light’s absence blurs the stark outlines.
Anchorage’s full blown Arctic nights in November
Pencil canopy stripped branches brown into black sky
Only the soft shuffling of crumbling leaves is heard
Down a lonely laneway in Melbourne in the month of June.
Like slippers treading on a multi-hued Persian carpet.
- Edited by Unu Bae