Catch those falling petals,
One by one,
It's time to go home,
It's time to let time die.
Copper and rust
Ought to coat your palms
Silver and ebony
Ought to dot your forehead.
Sniff the air, my lovely
All warm and wet and soft
It's time to say goodbye, lovely,
Time to whisper a golden farewell.
It's the shifting of grey skies
And the rushing of cold dust
A pattering and thundering
Of heavens venting o'er and o'er.
Draw your coat closer, lovely,
Draw into your cosy haven.
Draw into cider and apple pie
And a smoked turkey with applesauce.
But before you go, lovely,
Take away a scarlet token.
Keep a crimson reminder
Of everything gone to sleep.
So you'll have a little piece of colour
To keep through the whiteness
Of a deep, deep slumber
And a silence reflected in naked branches and empty
bark.
And when once you wake, my lovely
To twittering wings and delicious flora,
You'll know for sure, lovely
That Spring's sweet song has at last begun.
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