God's Autumn Radiance

In joy I watch the woodland leaves
Adrift in jeweled jamborees;
Parading banners twist and fly
Into the shimmering morning-glory sky.

Rich colors whirl from treetops bare,
Their beauty burning windswept air.
In Autumn breeze, leaves tumble down -
Vermillion, bronze, and chestnut brown.

Scarlet apple trees with fruit bend down,
Glowing pear trees flaunt each golden crown,
Bright, bittersweet blooms with heads held high,
As milkweed parachutes fly by.

Dazzling maples in splendor along the lane
Wear frost-silvered halos once again.
Night echoes the whippoorwill's farewell call...
God's heavenly radiance spreads over all.

~ Elizabeth Weaver Winstead