Exquisite beauty dragged
down to cliches of colour, action:
shimmers gold
tongue of flame licks fading grass
swirling leaf, pale light of a dying day.
Words so miss the mark that they hurt.

I've done this
attempt to capture shining leaf
dancing on the wind
alive as it descends from living branch
the result, a motionless photograph
speck of yellow six feet above the road.

What phrases can express delight
wind and leaf, partners in  dance
dark pine twined with scarlet sumac
gold yellow ash sun-bright in crystal air
red maple shines in the grey of a drizzling day

Words over used sound trite
Or call out "look at me"
when all we need is open eyes to see
a beauty so exquisite that it hurts.

Cathy Hird lives among the autumn leaves beside the wild waters of Georgian Bay.