CRIMSON SNOW

Each November
We remember
At the Royal Albert Hall
And we remember

With dignity
With respect
They stand in silence
And we remember

In silence
Petals fall
Like crimson snow flakes
And we remember

Gently falling
They settle
Upon hat and tunic
And we remember

Each petal
Once a life
Floats in silent homage
And we remember

Red poppies
Springing eternally
From the bloodied fields
And we remember

Falling petals
Falling in millions
To recall the fallen
And we remember

I REMEMBER

I remember
Those with no future, But only a gallant past
I remember
Those who never lived, To enjoy the fruits of their sacrifice
I remember
Those who will be forever young, Those who will never be old
I remember
When the sun sets on their past, And rises brilliantly for our future
I remember
Father’s, sons and brothers, Husband’s, friends and lovers
I remember
That lost generation of men, Who went to war for our tomorrow
I remember
Poor man, gentleman and scholar, Who stood shoulder to shoulder
I remember
Those who fell before the foe, For a future they wouldn’t know

THE BIRD WATCHER

Upon the wooded hill
The forest sentinel stood
Made from wind falls
Wooden scraps and ullage
Skillfully fashioned
To become, complete with binoculars
The birdwatcher
But all was not as it seemed
For the sentinel
Destined to forever study
What fell before his gaze
Every autumn
Turned his attention upon
His favorite birch tree
Who when the autumn wind blew
Began to shed her leafy canopy
All the year round he studied
In detail her fully covered form
But in the autumn he could
Revel in her nakedness
The sentinel spoke to himself
“Oh I’m getting a woody”
And with that his sap began to rise
“Oh no too soon, too soon”
Then all too suddenly it was over
So upon the wooded hill
The frustrated forest sentinel stood
Staring through his binoculars
And telling himself
“There’s always next year”

GOLDEN GOWN

The deciduous trees still have their foliage on
With autumn changing hues like a chameleon
From yellow and gold and red and brown
Some leaves have already began falling down
Then the autumn gales come quite inevitable
Leaving the once proud trees quite skeletal
Sadly now all the leaves have fallen down
Thus adding to mother natures golden gown

OCTOBERNESS

Misty mornings
Start dim and dismal
Penetrating Dampness
Seeping into your bones
Some days it brightens later
Enough for shirtsleeves
Then when darkness falls
Curtains are drawn
At the months beginning
Grass is still growing green
The trees are well covered still
Then leaves turn green to yellow
Yellow is burnished to gold
Gold to burning red
Then red to earth
Beyond the equinox
Days have already become
More dark than light
Before the clocks fall back
And the sun sets sooner
Days of sunshine deceive
Sheltered pockets warm and confuse the senses
In the later days
When the residual warmth diminishes
The bite remainsTo herald worse to come

FALCON IN THE GARDEN

In the late summer sky
The falcon in majestic flight
Spied its unfortunate prey
Then swooped down from great height

With lightning speed
It took a pigeon on the wing
Then with much less grace and style
It performed a clumsy landing

In a quiet village garden
On the sunny patch of grass
The falcon went about its work
And performed the coup de gras

From the house a curious cat
Peered out with envious eyes
Through a window as the falcon
Devoured its pigeon prize

The cat crept through the cat flap
In its most stealthy way
The falcon though was off
But left behind its pigeon prey

The cat inspected the pigeon
Sniffed it and poked it with her paw
Found it a disappointment
And she strolled away once more

As she strolled back to the house
The falcon swooped to the ground
Snatched up his pigeon prize
Before the cat could turn around

The falcon had taken the bird
Leaving nothing in its place
Leaving only feathers on the lawnAnd a scowl on the cats face

GOLDEN HARVEST

The autumn leaves fall
Like flakes of gold
Drifting to earth like surreal snow
In the golden harvest
As they fall they dance
Wildly in the breeze
To autumns tune
Before coming to rest
Then on peaceful mornings
They gather in the quiet corners
That pepper the autumn landscape
Cast like a threadbare cloak
Spread by mother natures hand
And in the misty morn
The golden harvest
Lays deep and undisturbed
Like collected thoughts
In the corners of my mind
The watery sun slowly burns away the mist
And Illuminates the October landscape
Before the wind disturbs the peace
And chases the leaves awayScattering them like my dreams