• Follow us on Twitter
  • Add me on Linkedin
  • RSS
“Begin at the beginning," the King said, very gravely, "and go on till you come to the end: then stop.” ― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland close

  • Home
  • Author
  • Writing tips blog
  • Dr Vanilla’s Sunflowers
    • Chapter 1 – a preview!
  • SWAP
  • Poetry
    • Children’s Poems
      • The Pancake Boy
      • The Little Mouse
      • The Treeman
      • Catipliiar Girl
      • Day Break
      • Monsters
      • The Bristle Man
      • The Children
      • The Insect Ball
      • The Keeper
      • The Skeleton Leaves
    • Rap poems
      • Where I Shelter when I shelter
      • This is what I remember
      • What I risk
    • Love Poems
      • My Little Life
      • Dad
      • What is Love?
      • Love and it’s Frumpy Friend
      • The Little Mouse
      • By the eyes of the Moon and the Stars and the Sun
  • Scripts and plays
    • Catching Dandelions
    • The Wedding Speech
  • Short stories
    • The Night Fisherman
    • The Departure
    • Crepe Paper Lanterns

The Skeleton Leaves

LeavesIt starts in a whisper as the wind puffs its cheeks,

and the snuffling hedgehog a resting place seeks,

as the night twirls her cape and smothers the sun,

and the swallows and blue tits return to their young,

as the fairies of winter in shimmering boots,

scatter their ice-dust as the wise owl hoots,

the flowers and shrubs gently roll down their sleeves,

and the paw printed ground grows stiff in the breeze,

those who are foolish enough not to sleep,

not to hide from the darkness in holes that are deep,

will soon witness such a frightening thing,

that the petals grow pale and the birds do not sing,

for this is the time that the withering trees ,

give up and let go of their old dying leaves.

 

They float to the ground, shrivelled, forgotten,

their featureless faces twisted and rotten,

and when they reach the frost covered earth,

with their very last breath the lament their birth,

and as they shed the last of their flesh,

so they begin their sad dance of death,

dislocated puppets on transparent strings,

with brittle fingers and terrible grins,

they dance and dance on their spindly toes,

howling and weeping their way through the snow,

and any creature they brush with their bones,

will instantly die and crumble to stones,

for such is the curse of the skeleton leaves,

whose bitter touch is full of disease,

for they cannot bear that their lives were in vain,

to have grown, then to shrivel, and then perish in pain,

so to all those who dare watch their demise,

they will hunt and ensure that they pay with their lives.

 

It is only when dawn lets down her hair,

and her rich golden ringlets float through the air,

that the leaves stop their dancing and forever do sleep,

and it is safe for the creatures to creep,

and to witness the world in a new golden glow,

as the smile of the sun reflects on the snow,

their  fear is forgotten as they start to munch,

on new shoots and leaves they chew and they crunch,

and the leaves from their grave of freezing earth,

can only envy their young siblings worth,

for they had a purpose, to be eaten as food,

not to turn brown and to be of no good,

as so their regret will forever remain,

as they sink into earth to begin once again.

 

 

image courtesy of Kazeryuujin@dviantart.com

Recent Posts

  • Everyday Writing Mistakes And How To Make The Most Of Them
  • Writers and Rejection: What Does Being Rejected Mean To You?
  • How To Be More Creative
  • Writing Sacrifices – What Will You Do To Become A Successful Writer?
  • New Year’s Writing Resolutions For Everyone

Recent Comments

  • Kiersten on ‘I Got A Puppy And Now I Do No Work.’ (How To Tackle Writing Procrastination)
  • Abel McColl on Writing Sacrifices – What Will You Do To Become A Successful Writer?
  • admin on The Myth of The Perfect Writing Space
  • Geo Malave on The Myth of The Perfect Writing Space
  • ntc33 login on ‘I Got A Puppy And Now I Do No Work.’ (How To Tackle Writing Procrastination)

Archives

  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • March 2016
  • April 2015
  • November 2014
  • September 2014
  • January 2014
  • March 2013

Categories

  • Articles
  • Books
  • General
  • Love Lines
  • Poems
  • scripts
  • Short Stories
  • Uncategorized
  • Writing tips

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries RSS
  • Comments RSS
  • WordPress.org

Latest Tweets

  • No public Tweets found
© Copyright - Bethany Cadman - Wordpress Theme by Kriesi.at