Autumn Poem by Margaret Manning

Shafts of sun - taut veil against dark cloud,
Spattering rain tiptoeing across car roof-
Then gone.
Leaves dancing wildly in the wind-
Ecstatic joy.
Beauty causing soft, sweet sadness;
A grief unknown.

Deep russets, yellows, reds in chaotic jubilation,
Yet deep melancholy
Foreboding transience; heralding death.
But death with hope;
Expectation, knowledge of greater life to come;
Larger, richer, fuller yet.