Autumn at its Ebb

By Sarah E. White

White and brown patches of cotton
Lay scattered along the road
With the bright yellow explosion of wilting Maples
Fiery red and amber leaves
Yanked from their anchor point yet again
Floating now down
Ever falling toward the cold hard ground
Autumn at its ebb
I watch it flow out
As the wave of winter begins to build on the horizon
Waiting to crash upon us
The earth prepares for the break
The sandy bleak colored grass
Sucking the last bit of life from the earth
An earth ready for hibernation
Ready now for rest
Time to shed its colorful layers and stand bare
In the cold of winter wind
Replaced hastily by the man made decorations
Of a season yet to come
The red, gold and green of giving and getting
Eating and drinking
Gouging ourselves on our gluttony
While the earth stands naked and shivers
Alone in the cold dark nights
Its bounty long since ripped from its belly
Laying now harvested
On the tables of the thankless
As that wave keeps crashing