I knew her beauty and I felt her pain
an autumn leaf that would not live again.
My heart was saddened to see her fall
as she spun and tumbled I could recall
the day of her birth from my chestnut tree,
and just how lovely she was then to see.
All through the summer as the sun shone down
she and her sisters flounced a verdant gown,
they curtsied low in sweet September’s song
and the fruits they had cradled for so long
fell to the earth in beautiful display
on soft russet and golden beds they lay.
Then October came; only she was left
the last leaf of autumn made me bereft,
she clung for a while to the chestnut tree,
clinging to life that could no longer be,
in melancholic mood I almost wept
knowing her death I just had to accept.
~
© Stella Armour29-09-2013