Autumn's rest began today as the last leaf floated by,

When gray clouds replaced the blue of the morning sky.

Frigid breath of a northern gale feathered over the skin,

And winter emerges among the death as another season begins.

The smallest trace of warmer days is buried under the white,

And the voice of song and the hope it brought have all taken flight.

Frosted stubble and bowing bush are all that's left of the yesterdays,

Before paradise was swallowed whole by all the subtle grays.

Teresa Stairs Dennis 092604