October Thoughts

 

It will not always be like this,

the air windless, a few last

leaves adding their decoration

to the trees’ shoulders, braiding the cuffs

of the boughs with gold; a bird preening

 in the lawn’s mirror. Having looked up

From the day’s chores, pause a minute,

let the mind take its photograph

of the bright scene, something to wear

against the heart in the long cold.

[A Day in Autumn, by R S Thomas]