Seasonal Sonnet

You're like the dawning of an autumn day
That warms the heart although the air is cold;
Your sweetness pours a honey-golden ray
Of youthful spring into a year grown old.
When winter frowns in late November skies,
Your kindness smiles like morning light in May;
The crystal luster in your lovely eyes
Can melt the chill of loneliness away.
Though shadows shiver on the frozen ground
And hearth-fire-yellow leaves are none or few -
Like fruitful harvests, thoughts of you abound;
The promise of romance ripens anew.
For in my glowing autumn dreams of you,
Despair's frost fades, and fresh hope shines like dew.