Just as the year is ending
(As winter snows the leaves)
The autumn glow pretending ~
The winter chill deceives.
As squirrels start defending
Their caches underground,
December's shiver pending,
And swallows southward bound.

The cool of day is blending
(As it frosts the forest floor)
Into the sunset tending
To be sooner than before.
The boughs of treetops bending
As gales race through their form
Spiralling and wending
Propelled by winter's storm.

And so, the nightfall sending
(As shadows shade the sky)
The cool of night and rending
The fair of day awry.
With winter's shroud descending
To cause the season's drear,
Just as the year is ending ~
The closing of the year.

ASJ