For Marian’s prompt at Real Toads: one word – burnished
Burnished Leaves
“The wind makes you ache is some place that is deeper than your bones. It may be that it touches something old in the human soul…” ― Stephen King
The trees are waiting.
it was a dry spring and summer
and the leaves fading and falling.
etiolated in appearance
the leaves wait –
dull green leaves on the tree
are starting to be tinged
with slightest yellow,
palest red –
fading and falling,
a grey tabby sits at the bottom of the tree
watching the leaves fall
with her mad eyes,
reaching to catch them as they drift.
but the trees are waiting,
waiting for Jack Frost to come
and burnish their leaves into
brilliant gold and copper,
carnelian and jasper –
pulling out his cloth of wedding lace frost
and burnishing them until they shine.
jasper semi-precious stone
kanzen sakura 
Nov 08, 2019 @ 13:12:26
Thanks for the jasper image. I loved the image of the tabby beneath the tree looking up with mad eyes.
Nov 08, 2019 @ 13:13:39
Even as we speak, it is circling the tree waiting for more leaves to fall. Jasper and carnelian are two of my faves.
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Nov 08, 2019 @ 20:46:59
Would love to see the brown Autumn leaves drifting leisurely down. Your tabby enhanced the images of movements in your poetry. Lovely take Toni!
Hank
Nov 09, 2019 @ 04:00:08
Once again, you’ve chosen a great quote, Toni, and written about my favourite plants – trees! I like the way you’ve slowed everything down, to evoke that feeling of waiting, and then made the surprising shift from tree to cat. The colours in the final lines and the image of ‘wedding lace frost’ are beautiful.
Nov 09, 2019 @ 09:03:54
Nice, nice. That tabby is the heart here, I adore her.
Nov 09, 2019 @ 14:16:31
The season of transformation… and then winter is here. Love the cat there with its mad eyes.
Nov 09, 2019 @ 16:49:39
Everybody likes the little cat!
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Nov 09, 2019 @ 14:42:07
Tabby vs. Nature …. who will win? I enjoyed this!
Nov 10, 2019 @ 04:15:55
I love this and how it ends with the image of jasper (I haven’t seen that before)…there is a quiet feeling of working with the seasons in this wonderful poem
Nov 10, 2019 @ 07:50:20
I hope the kitty enjoys her time playing with the leaves. Soon it will be much colder with no leaves left to chase. Perhaps she’ll romp as part of the wedding party if she’s a snow loving cat. My derpy corgi would be all over that.
Nov 10, 2019 @ 09:46:42
I really enjoyed reading this Toni, and I could see the tabby playing with the leaves.
Nov 10, 2019 @ 12:21:13
I am imagining beautiful copper and gold leaves that have been plated and polished to shine. That jack frost can create such beautiful designs.
Nov 10, 2019 @ 13:47:24
I love the cat contemplating the falling leaves!
Nov 10, 2019 @ 16:08:57
Oh, even a cat anticipates the season. Love this!
Nov 10, 2019 @ 16:10:57
Thank you. I should put more cats into my poem’s because everybody loved her!
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Nov 11, 2019 @ 19:10:49
Love the eyes of the mad kitty – I’m sure tail as well!
Nov 11, 2019 @ 19:27:33
Yiu know that tail was moving!
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