Savages Wood

A flash of pink lets me think,
That I know what I can see.
A jay has flown up onto a branch,
And is staring down at me.

A cackle, almost a laugh,
As it cocks its head aside,
Its jet black eye staring down
On what nature can provide.

It's autumn, and the ground is covered
In a leafy carpet, brown,
But turn them over, look below,
And see what can be found.

Millipedes and juicy worms
Teeming all around
Mixed with buried nuts and seeds
As a squirrel whirls around.

Because the bounty isn't infinite,
The plenty will not last.
As already the weathers' turning,
And the winds' an icy blast.

There are toadstools in the grasses,
And fungi all around,
Bracketing the ends of logs,
Helping them return back to the ground.

Although things are shutting down,
This isn't the woodlands' end.
As rotting leaves and logs provide
A start so that it can send

A helping hand to the spring to come,
When the flowers will bloom again.
For the woodland cycles through the years
Far longer than the lives of men.