Autumn Leaves Poem by Barry Middleton

the autumn glow is here
with winter coming soon
a last display of color
beneath the harvest moon

the leaves are like a fire
in flames of orange and red
recalling summer heat
and not what lies ahead

but I am ready now
to greet the winter snow
and I will face the cold
as winter winds must blow

and I will warm my hands
on burning autumn leaves
before the final gray
where all of nature grieves

and too I shed a tear
as smoke ascends the sky
into a universe
where even planets die