Autumn Chill

Autumn Chill

Helios now struggles to rise in the sky

Peeping over the horizon for our eyes

Remembering ancestors who placed stones

Aligned as they watched the summer die

Cold days ahead deter a desire to rise

The chill being felt in these old bones

There’s a purpose to the chill in the air

Though it sends shivers down my spine

A value in this steady shortening of days

When nature can rest and carry out repair

Recovery that has evolved with a design

To plan emergence from dark damp days

The changing colours as leaves fall

Drifting to a carpet upon the forest floor

Blown then by winds to form a sea

Fading from decay as winter makes a call

The chill meanwhile opens another door

Nutrients recycled for nature’s necessity

The chill also an awakening for all

To survive the ice blast we store and share

A time for each of us to show goodwill

So listen out for your neighbour’s call

Your pantry may be full but theirs is bare

Show them love and kindness in the chill

Copyright: David Hopcroft January 2026

Where Life Sleeps

Where life sleeps

Drifting clouds intercept the warmth of sun

Shortening days draw in the cooler nights

The spinning earth continues on its path

Here in northern climes scenes change fast

Expressing the beauty of nature’s cycles

I sit in the sunshine to watch the leaves

Their chaotic descent from the trees

A crazy fluctuating path in the breeze

Those changing colours are an artist’s dream

Whilst so much of life continues unseen

Seeds are carried far away by hungry birds

Blown for many miles in the Autumn gales

Spreading the miracle of life far and wide

Trees like lofty skeletons now seek the skies

Prepared once more for the winter sleep

In leather jacket the cranefly hides in soil

A chrysalis hangs safely from a stem

Beauty trapped beneath will slowly form

Within a hive the honey bees are at rest

Whilst busy squirrels are adding to their hoard

Overhead migrating birds seek warmer lands

The first frosts will seal an autumn fate

Whilst life sleeps peacefully awaiting rebirth

How blessed I am to see this for another year

Copyright: David Hopcroft October 2025

The Apple

The Apple

In the long grass you could still see if you looked carefully

The red skin and the round shape that had fallen from the tree

She had picked most of the fruit in the late summer

When the warmth had encouraged early ripening

But this apple had been missed and fallen to the ground

There were marks where a blackbird had pecked

Seeking nourishment as winter fingers came

To envelop the garden each morning in frosted mist

The blackbird had pecked away but not returned

Upon further examination you would have seen more

The teeth marks of some rodent that had visited

The winter was harsh yet the creature had not returned

She had seen the hedgehog one morning

When the sun had broken through for a few hours

Wandering past the plum tree near the fence

Then snuffling beneath the discarded leaves of a vine

But she had not seen the visit to the apple

So she was not aware the creature never returned

The crop had been heavy and she was pleased

Giving her thanks to a deity in which she believed

She had used her stepladder to reach the highest branch

Five full baskets were a reason for some celebration

Some she had given to neighbours and friends

Others were used for apple tart to take to church

Then she had made lots of jam and apple jelly

That would help see her through the winter

She was proud of her achievements that year

She loved to hang bird feeders in her trees

Full of corn and peanuts for feathered friends

But as her health faltered over the months

She did not notice there were fewer birds

Nor was she able to see the apple on the ground

Now she spent her time inside her home

Starting to sense that she was all alone

Eating her apple jam seemed to make her worse

She wondered if she were the victim of a curse

They found her in early Spring before the thaw

Almost a skeleton she was limp and thin

An opened jar of apple jam by her bedside

She was prepared to lie in her final resting place

At the service church pews were nearly empty

The coffin taken to lie beneath her favourite tree

A few handfuls of earth tossed into the grave

Only then did a pall bearer notice and remark

Upon the red apple lying in the grass

Copyright: David Hopcroft December 2024

(To be continued)

September Mist

September Mist

A dampness hangs over the sleepy valley

Heads in beds still slumber as dawn breaks

The sound of a bellowing bull breaks the silence

A muffled sound whose direction is unclear

Then stillness returns

Who would rise and peer into the haze

Walk upon the dewy grass

Listening to bird songs in the air

As the sun at last burns through

Away from the choking city streets

I can celebrate each day anew

Copyright: David Hopcroft October 2024

Morning

Morning

The glistening drops of dew on the tips of blades of grass

Turning the lawn to a shimmering silvered sea

Where fallen red leaves from a cherry seem stranded

Like boats held fast in the doldrums

Yellowing leaves of the vine are draped across the blue summer house

Now showing those shades of Autumn that follow Summer’s green

The grapes have long gone

Providing a feast for mice that dwell below the shed

The aluminium ladder propped against the wall reflects the morning sun

Drops of last night’s rain still trickle slowly from the roof

Where freshly sealed felt still smells of bitumen

Whilst other droplets are still clinging to the washing line

An apple discarded by the tree lies upon the ground

Half-eaten by some creature passing by

The rose that had not been picked

Swells with the seeds forming beneath

The last of the fuchsias still dangle from the stem

Whilst bees no longer hum above the lavender head

Pink and white geraniums flower in the pots

Standing firm before they eventually yield to winter frost

Mint still rampant awaits a similar fate

Beneath the patio the ants will sleep in the sand

The yellow vetch still stands above the lawn

An orange flower of nasturtium brightens the patch

That nestles beneath the blueberry bush

Where bulbs awake from dormancy below

I peer at the grass

To see the leaves of Puschkinia snowdrops pushing through

Summer sun has faded the colour from the fence

An ever-changing scene

The smell of fresh coffee

Draws me away

I feel good

As I welcome each new day

Copyright: David Hopcroft November 2022