Drifting Worlds

Jewel Thief

The rays peep,

Hesitantly,

Through the foliage,

Casting dappled sunlight

Onto the carpet of leaves.

The tree is not yet bare;

Its bony fingers still retain

The seasonal jewels that adorn them.

It is not the only one-

Its sisters are also decked in a myriad of gems:

Dewy topazes and dripping rubies,

Sparkling in the distributed sunlight.

A leaf floats,

Gently,

Drifting onto the collage that conceals the ground.

Soon the others will follow,

And the trees will be stripped of their ornaments

By the bitter winter wind.

But perhaps,

When all their prestige is removed,

They might be granted a frosting of snow,

In an attempt to replenish

The delicate trinkets that have been

Stolen.