October's Overhaul

Hemlock trees have been poisoned
By October's biting chill
Dogwoods look ravaged by mange
The landscape is littered
With dismembered leaves
Branches now barren seem strange
Willows wither and wallow
Without their foliage fringes
Chestnuts crash to the ground
As the wind loosens them
From their hinges
Beneath the maple tree's height,
Helicopters hover and whirl
Autumn's script is rewritten again
Its worn pages yellow and curled
---
October 2007