At first when I gaze up at the trees,
It looks like tropical birds on the breeze.
But the gold, and the bronze and the reds are just leaves.
But Oh! What beauty they proudly display,
As they rustle and shimmer and gently sway
To the sound they hear only; musical fey.
The nights get longer and days shorter they grow,
And the leaves gain more color and their beauty will glow,
Lit from within with a magical show.
Till they reach their maximum color and swell,
With crackling sound like a magical bell,
The majestic wonders proudly stand, and stand well.
Then it snows like a rainbow –
A blizzard of wonder as downward they go,
Till branches are bare, sending to earth its colorful glow.
-KATHI HILL