I dug out an old poem or two

In one of my poetry groups on the net, they were asking for seasonal poems (old or new) so I dug out these two. And, yes, you could go to the "poetry" section and just read them, but I haven't even thought about them for a long, long time. I realized how much I still like them and just thought I would share them again with you, dear readers.

AUTUMN

The bite of the air and the crackle of leaves,
The smell of the woodsmoke as it curls 'round the eaves.
As the lead goose calls, the rest honk their consent
While the frost-wilted flowers nod a summer's lament.

And I, too, nod and lament the late summers passing.
And relish not the winter's soon trespassing
Into my yard, my life, my love and my rhyme...
For winter and death close the circle of time.

THE LAST LEAF

I watched the last leaf fall from the maple today.
It sailed on the brisk breeze, in a slow motion free-fall.
Finally touching down, then rolling, rolling,
till it landed on the water in the ditch.

It floated sanguine and serene on the water,
it's upturned stem like a Viking ship's prow.
The curled up sides looking like swan wings
as it made the journey to its final destiny.

Why does Fall make me so sad?
I love the smell of burning leaves,
the cool crisp air, the riotous, rampant colorings
and the interplay between wind and sky.

But, as Canada geese honk their farewells,
I feel my own mortality and the life that passed me by,
My story left unwritten, just blank pages in a dusty, unopened book.
The autumn of my years, it's too late to change my life now...

And I watch as the leaf surges, strains and then swirls into the storm drain...