…waiting for the return of summer skies

The last flowers are trembling
in the chasms of darkness
the sun has abandoned the stage

the wind, gentle but strong
carves waves through the long grass
the harbinger of winter

a warning to all growing things
butterflies seeking refuge
their fragility their nemesis

birds call unseen
as they circle out into the distance
their echoes mournful and fading

as the season turns
and the nights grow longer
silence descends upon the earth

nothing moves unless the wind wills it
the once wild woods stand barren
the emptiness of leafless trees

stark and seemingly lifeless
a cyclical illusion, a disguise
waiting for the return of summer skies

© Ann Bagnall