As The Leaves Descend

The air is colder. As the leaves descend,
Writing, in yellow characters, decay,
Autumn is here and summer at an end.

Spiders from side-lines monitor and mend
The webs that struggling victims disarray.
The air is colder as the leaves descend.

White windflowers’ rust-edged petals fall, and blend
Confetti-showers with glistening red clay.
Autumn is here and summer at an end.

The ivy tendrils on a trunk extend
Their lagging of fresh green around its grey.
The air is colder. As the leaves descend

Last dahlias flare, a frost-doomed dividend.
A nutting squirrel chatters at a jay,
Autumn is here and summer at an end.

Time daily shorter that the sun can spend,
Thick morning mists too slowly melt away.
The air is colder. As the leaves descend
Autumn is here and summer at an end.



Six Letter Words

Acclaim once crowned a dirt-remover,
That sucker easy to manoeuvre,
And yet from Sydney to Vancouver
The business panned the verb ‘to h*****’.

This name (no need to blow its bugle,
Let’s merely say it rhymes with Dougal)
Gains gold in measures far from frugal
But lawyers likewise hate ‘to g*****’.

So while − though not a trophy-gloater
Or leocide from Minnesota −                   
I rather like my brand new motor
Best not be risking 'to t*****'.

Jerome Betts


If you have any comments on these poems, Jerome Betts would be pleased to hear from you.