With luck, I’ll see October’s spell on trees
A hundred times before eternal sleep,
But beauty now arrests my heart with peace
When, each October, life sings harmony;
A hundred times to witness fall’s great peak,
When here an oak tree turns to orange leaf,
And overnight a maple turns bright red,
And on the hill an elm is still half green;
When yesterday the air was full of heat,
And then this morning came with cool relief
And now a rain blows past and then retreats,
And lays upon the leaves a glossy sheet,
And then a soft scent rises, kind of sweet,
But not like candy sweet,
Sweet like memories of past Octobers,
Sweet like a child who kisses on the cheek;
Then finally, as one, these beauties meet,
A moment when I see the heavens peak,
A moment when I hear the heavens speak,
A moment that arrests my heart with peace.
With luck, before eternal sleep, I’ll see
A mere one hundred beautiful as these,
And yet their might and quickness to retreat
So drive my heart to cherish such a feat.