The Lake In Autumn Poem by David Wood

Red and Golden autumn leaves fall
Leaving trees bereft of a winter coat.
Moist lichens drip their beards down
Chilly weather beaten tree barks.

Leaves now line lakeside paths as the
Wind cast them far and wide like sea
Spray whipped up on a stormy beach
In an autumn storm.

The lake, knee deep with fish, carries
Discarded leaves on its dark moody
Surface under an overcast sky towards
The larger river and wider ocean.

Now worms working harder in hard earth
As greedy blackbirds gather their harvest
And crows on branches squark mockingly
At walkers passing beneath them.

Squirrels dart around gathering remaining
Berries among the bones of dead trees
And bushes lining a dark glazed path as
The hourglass slowly runs down to winter.

Nature begins its annual wind down; a tardy
Sun, now delayed, grows weaker as the days
Shorten slowing the pace of life and nature
To the speed of a somnolent garden snail.