The cornstalks stand in their brown lines
Rustling hoarsely in the cool autumn breeze
The sun beams warmly from a cloudless blue
And the earth greedily sponges up the last drops of gold.

Nature won’t tell us; it’s her secret
But the traitor birds, fleeing an enemy they have never met
Warn that an unconquerable foe is approaching
And the friendly sun will soon become a cold spectator
A pale eye in a pale-complexioned sky.

And the cornstalks still stand in their thin brown lines
Knowing as their dry leaves rattle, sabre-like, against their knees,
That there will be no quarter shown, no mercy given
When the frost-daggers appear, pointed unerringly at their hearts.

But still they stand,
Stubborn
Strong
Fierce
Guarding their dry yellow hoard
Until the gentle deer
Silently steal it away.

 

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Responses

Beautifully done. I live in tall corn country and occasionally see a deer "stealing it away."

Charles Scott
Shelbyville, Indiana