Kaleidoscope

Kaleidoscope

Like quilt squares

Strewn haphazardly

Vivid oranges overlap

Burnt umber edges

And ochres nudge

Transparently scarlet reds

With pointy fingers

Spines drawn like henna tattoos

The dance done

Now sodden clumps

Impaled on sidewalks

Cling to careless soles

Commiserating their demise

Mourning for lost brilliance

When lit from within

They burst forth

In pure full-on hues

Trembling with perfection

In the last hurrah

As I scatter the top layer

Shuffling under naked branches

I breathe in the heady mix

Of rain on crisp air

And caramel apples

And cider and nighttime fires

And the poignant scent

Of something

Undefined

Hanging in the mist

Fluttering

On the edge of awareness

And I gird myself

Against a sudden chill

Of losing time

       And love

              And what can never be

                              —Katherine McLeod Searle

                                24 October 2009