Floating forth from father-branch they came,
The same in form as friends before and after,
Riding rafters, racers round roads unknown to crafter;
Thrust by breezes' laughter, building Autumn's fame
Came the tree's debris set free: these falling leaves
Bereave the ageing year's near neighbour:
To restore from hoar the life before is but lost labour -
Winter's ways won't heed reprieves.
So we see the panoply of season's shrinking,
Driving death's breath down through the world;
Hurled high to lofty ledges too.
But through the bluster bursts Spring's beauty winking,
Knowing the notion now to be unfurled:
Nothing tires that time cannot renew.
Kieran is an undergraduate studying English at Cambridge University.
