The rambling roses now twine tiredly round the porch <br />And, in the borders, dying dahlias feebly bow their heads <br />Awaiting soon the weary, worrisome approach <br />Of chilling breath whose whisper augurs dismal deaths. <br />Chrysanthemums still shine more bright to make their boast <br />To burst and bloom, though rooted in the cloying clay; <br />They still stand sure, resistant to the frosty foes <br />That steal the feebler flowers’ glamour all away. <br /> <br />For, though the days may grow more bitter, harsh and cold, <br />Some are determined they will win the distance race <br />To fast-approaching winter, as it threatens bold, <br />With grand displays of sprays endowed with gold and grace. <br />Their purple-coated comrades join their massing ranks <br />As Michaelmas approaches; dainty daisies state <br />Rare, royal-robed ambitions for the floral dance <br />And rush along to join the petal-jewelled spate. <br /> <br />But even these survivors in assorted hues <br />Of every rainbow colour underneath the sun <br />Will not prevail in battle and shall surely lose <br />The beauty that our gardens soon shall shun <br />When winter walks untrammelled through each open gate <br />And batters down each last surviving, tattered bloom <br />Until the first brave snowdropp dares to meet its fate <br />Above the trench’s parapet to end the gloom.<br /><br />C Richard Miles<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-fading-flowers-of-autumn/
