Autumn's Seduction

Autumn dances in protest
beneath a silver ballroom moon,
her chilly fingertips
tossing golden leaves at strangers.

She waltzes,
her celerity defying rules of the dance;
she twirls in ferocious circles,
her wispy locks trembling leaves from trees.

Her free spirit catches Winter’s eye,
and he seeks to impress her,
longing to join in her dance,
to know the power of her breezy freedom.

But Autumn refuses
Winter’s crisp, clear days;
she has her own and so desires
trinkets more befitting.

Winter presents his chilling rain
amid a charcoal gray, lifeless sky,
at which Autumn scoofs,
wishing for a livelier keepsake.

A presentation of harsher, colder winds
nearly nets Winter his treasure,
the thought of controlling such tumultous air
sparking a fire in Autumn’s eyes until she declines.

Winter, then, slips a coat of snow
upon Autumn’s chestnut shoulders.
She adores her downy, apple blossom gift,
and, soon, Autumn’s waltz
becomes a dance of surrender
as she submits to Winter’s seduction.

Written for:
Outlaw Poet's Poetry Contest