Shadow Dance

Shadow Dance
Christopher Bogart

The flickering black shadows
Of the gathering of leaves,
Made animate
By the stiff autumnal breeze,
Bounce carelessly
Off gnarled gray bark.

The arc, clear sunlight
Plays upon the stage
These somber trees provide,
Illuminate the pages
Of neighboring limbs.

Their life is limited
To a slow drifting death
As they transform
From dark green haze
To a brilliant fiery blaze
In a vain attempt to hide
From the chilling eye
Of a fickle sun.