Autumnal Rites

If fall is death,
then I prefer the way
nature handles demise.
The air has a crispness
and the colors burst
in their descent
to dust.

The autumnal tree
offers its fallen fruit
to be gathered and stored.
Forgive the occasional
dent in the bodies
of cars on their way
to ground.

Harvest the crop
and clear the earth;
prepare its winter blanket.
Can and freeze quickly
to ease the burden
of the shorter,
grey days.