"My wish is to stay always like this, living quietly in a corner of nature." ― Claude Monet
On fields of hay below a darkened sky,
Where scarecrows slept away the frigid night,
A sobbing winter blared her last goodbye.
As spring prepares the ground where lilies lie,
A storm has placed a coat of pearly white
On fields of hay below a darkened sky.
The ground abounds with snow that rises high,
But spring will send its blooms to our delight;
A sobbing winter blared her last goodbye.
At dawn's approach, the storm is but a sigh —
A mournful wail which fades at morning light —
On fields of hay below a darkened sky.
The flakes that hug the air begin to die
As children rush to view the snowy sight;
A sobbing winter blared her last goodbye.
The birds have sensed that early spring is nigh
And break in rhythmic songs that rise in flight.
On fields of hay below a darkened sky,
A sobbing winter blared her last goodbye.
© 2022, Angel L Villanueva. All rights reserved.
Image by mollyroselee from Pixabay
Poetic form: Villanelle
When summer left and took her warming shawl,
The birds toward the south began to fly.
The leaves of wizened trees began to dye
As shorter days announced the hues of fall.
In town, a tired man lies down to rest;
His lawn, pristinely kept, begins to sleep.
He then recalls that there's more sod to reap
And must prepare the lawn for winter's test.
But there across the street, a lawn, not kept,
Is dressed with nutsedge weed and carpet grass.
The drizzly morning sees the mower pass,
And one misty-eyed dandelion wept.
© 2021, Angel L Villanueva. All rights reserved.
Image by MariaM31 from Pixabay
Poetic form: Quatrain - Enclosed Rhyme
I reach across for autumn's hand
When leaves begin to ride the air,
To walk amid the changing land.
Though I yet have some days unplanned,
And winter waits to bring her glare,
I reach across for autumn's hand.
I pine for spring and summer sand,
But autumn calls, so I prepare
To walk amid the changing land.
The fallen leaves with red are tanned,
So till I meet with winter's stare,
I reach across for autumn's hand.
The frigid winds will come as planned;
The trees will wave with branches bare
To walk amid the changing land.
When summer yields to fall's demand
And towns prepare a Sunday fair,
I reach across for autumn's hand
To walk amid the changing land.
© 2021, Angel L Villanueva. All rights reserved.
Image by ddzphoto from Pixabay
Poetic form: Villanelle
As summer ends its days of jade
And frost announces fall's return,
The leaves prepare their yearly blush —
A reddish-brown we soon discern.
While autumn tints the waiting trees
And verdant grass returns to sleep,
The birds migrate to southern lands,
Though others choose the fall to keep.
When shorter days have matched the nights,
An earthy scent imbues the air.
The piles of leaves are musky-sweet,
A fragrance cherished everywhere.
As parents watch their children play,
They muse about their youthful days.
When young, on leaves, they too had played,
And laughter rose like songs of praise.
© 2021, Angel L Villanueva. All rights reserved.
Image by Valiphotos from Pixabay
Poetic form: Quatrain
Her entrance seems enchanting every year,
Arrayed in white to please a viewer's eyes.
But blight could soon replace that thin veneer,
Revealing days of gray in her disguise.
She's dressed in gowns of bold and stunning white
And drapes the trees as branches bend and sway.
The hues of autumn's stay have lost the fight;
The leaves begin to dry and fly away.
Her flowing hair descends on barren trees
And coats the naked branches till they bow.
But early spring can break her swaddling freeze
And ease the icy grip from every bough.
Her frosty coat can seem like paradise,
But spring suspends the spell of her device.
© 2020, Angel L Villanueva. All rights reserved.
Image by MabelAmber from Pixabay
Poetic form: Sonnet
A symphony of brilliant red,
October weaves like silken thread.
Those budding weeks, of blushing trees,
Of yellow-orange leaves, can ease
An aging mind to reminisce
The years of glowing golden bliss.
But once October's leaves have spread,
November can be seen ahead.
It brings along the shorter days,
Of downy snow, and morning haze,
Which pleases all who long for this,
To feel November's early kiss.
© 2020, Angel L Villanueva. All rights reserved.
Image by Heibe from Pixabay
Poetic form: Lay
The path he takes this early day
Is dressed in dew and straws of hay.
The morning mist obscures his view;
The barn, though near, seems far away.
The sleepy sun begins to rise,
And light prepares to climb the skies.
He sees the path much clearer now,
As life awakened fills his eyes.
He senses changes autumn brings,
A mix of scents from lovely things.
The air, perfumed by turning leaves,
Is fragrance loved by serfs and kings.
Above he hears migrating birds,
Their calls of joy, like soothing words.
They tell of lands where warmth awaits;
A transient home for flocks and herds.
The cows have stirred and move about,
And roosters crow as piglets rout.
A dog begins to run to him,
His faithful friend and eager scout.
So much to do while autumn stays,
Before the freeze of winter’s gaze.
And yet, for now, he walks the path,
And sings a psalm of morning praise.
© 2020, Angel L Villanueva. All rights reserved.
Image by stux from Pixabay
Poetic form: Rubaiyat
Her return can be seen when trees
Begin to blush at summer's end.
A signal sensed with every breeze
When soothing, cooling nights portend
Her new return as leaves descend.
She stalls the days of winter's freeze
When trees, whose branches are ablaze,
Display their best with glorious ease.
A paradise for all who gaze
At the colors of her gown and fraise.
Cerise and crimson leaves can please
The pleading eyes of all who yearn,
Who keep in wait for days like these,
To muse, to love, and also learn.
But short, too short, is her return.
© 2020, Angel L Villanueva. All rights reserved.
Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay
Poetic form: Quintain (English)
The sudden chill of winter's sigh
Caresses me when autumn flees.
My meager warmth she tries to pry,
While planting kisses, cold and dry;
With icy breath she starts to tease.
I'm bundled as I walk along
But still can feel her hands on me.
She whispers near my ears her song,
Her wintry hold upon me strong;
A frosty kiss she plants with glee.
But shortly I will see the one
Who warms my soul with her embrace.
As frigid winter ends her run,
Her icy tears will be undone,
When spring begins to kiss my face.
© 2019, Angel L Villanueva. All rights reserved.
Image by TanteTati from Pixabay
Poetic form: Quintain (English)
O, stunning fall, your saffron gown,
Of crimson shades, without compare,
Has turned the leaves a scarlet brown,
The tears you'll shed at winter's glare.
Arrayed in pearly downy white,
She spreads her dress across the land.
Your tinted art will suffer blight
When you depart at her command.
But even she to spring will cede
When flowers rise on warming days.
For winter's dress cannot impede
The seeds that raise their arms in praise.
And still beyond the days of spring,
Of blossoms blushed in colors grand,
Her sister, summer, longs to bring
Her dress of jade and ocean sand.
© 2019, Angel L Villanueva. All rights reserved.
Image by Noupload from Pixabay
Poetic form: Quatrain
Her softest kiss she offered me today
As gentle warmth embraced my longing heart.
But winter's frosty hands pulled us apart
When cold and icy snow the day turned gray.
I begged for spring to stay and share her glow.
Instead, she placed a glancing peck on me.
She sauntered off to let her sister be
And took her warmth to yield to wintry snow.
But as she left, I sensed a parting kiss,
As if in words, to set my mind at ease:
"Do wait, fear not my sister's cold embrace,
For days she has before I take my place."
And so, as winter rides a gelid breeze,
I pine for lady spring, whose touch I miss.
© 2018, Angel L Villanueva. All rights reserved.
Image by ArtTower from Pixabay
Poetic form: Sonnet - Petrarchan
The calls of birds resound outside
When spring arrives, a sprightly bride.
The budding flowers rise with pride,
Their brilliant colors amplified.
The rain revives the grassy side,
Where verdant green is spreading wide.
The rabbits, now with food supplied,
Step out with youngsters unified.
The insects crawl the countryside,
All types and shapes and brightly dyed.
The squirrels play in turn beside
The leafy trees, then branches ride.
I smile as spring serves as a guide
Of nature's beauty magnified.
Tonight I'll dream, quite satisfied,
That early spring revived what died.
© 2018, Angel L Villanueva. All rights reserved.
Image by Larisa-K from Pixabay
Poetic form: Monorhyme
O, can you hear her? Yonder autumn days?
A siren's voice, as silent steps she takes?
Her nuanced hymn brings frosty morning haze,
And warns the trees to brace for pearly flakes.
Her feigned allure she pairs with lovely sights,
And softly laughs when warmth she steals from me.
I fear her touch, for long will be the nights;
She'll hold my face, until spring sets me free.
And yet, her comely gown I yearn to see,
As she performs her waltzes in the day.
So soft her smile as she begins her spree,
My heart applauds the dazzling white ballet.
Through autumn's haze her words I faintly hear;
She pleads with me, her cold arms not to fear.
© 2018, Angel L Villanueva. All rights reserved.
Image by DreamyArt from Pixabay
Poetic form: Sonnet
The old tree holds a last red leaf;
This autumn's stay has been too brief.
Now winter soon will take the stage;
She brings along her white motif.
The leaves that lie around the tree,
From dormant boughs, have broken free.
But one remains while autumn stays,
Forestalling winter's early spree.
But as all leaves before this guard,
Whose reddish face the wind has scarred,
Its strength to hold in place, will fail,
Then winter's door will be unbarred.
When winter's breath tomorrow nears
And frigid air with snow appears,
The leaf will yield to wintry wind,
The last of autumn's crimson tears.
© 2018, Angel L Villanueva. All rights reserved.
Image by Kathas_Fotos from Pixabay
Poetic form: Rubaiyat
He walks in thought when dawn her veil has tossed
And early morning shares an early frost.
He knows that autumn soon will have to leave,
Allowing winter's hands to chill the eve.
A painting she has left among the trees
Of colored leaves that shiver with the breeze.
They dance when winter's breath begins to blow,
Then glide toward the ground before the snow.
That beauty he absorbs while walking on,
Then stops to breathe the air of early dawn.
Through morning haze, he views the stunning art,
The colors left by fall to warm his heart.
He takes a leaf that lies beside a tree,
Remembrance of what autumn days can be.
© 2018, Angel L Villanueva. All rights reserved.
Image by jplenio from Pixabay
Poetic form: Couplet
The change of scene at summer's end
Restores the days of early fall.
The trees begin their yearly blend,
A mix of hues from autumn's shawl.
The countryside shows off its leaves
Of gold, yellow, and shades of brown.
But others don the reds that please
The crowds admiring autumn's gown.
When autumn adds its shades of red,
And crimson, scarlet, rust, cerise,
The artists on their canvas wed
Pastels of fall — a masterpiece!
But at the end of her goodbye,
The leaves begin to wilt and bend.
The crown, her pride, begins to die
While shedding tears at autumn’s end.
© 2018, Angel L Villanueva. All rights reserved.
Image by jplenio from Pixabay
Poetic form: Quatrain
I hear the laughter of the breeze
While walking by the swaying trees.
Their leaves have dressed the verdant ground,
Where rainbow colors now abound.
My steps alight on autumn's gown
Of gold and yellow, orange-brown.
The hues of fall, with tints of red,
Are early tears the trees have shed.
I then return to thoughts of you
And wish you here to share my view.
I smile while thinking we could walk
Atop this rainbow as we talk.
© 2018, Angel L Villanueva. All rights reserved.
Image by Valiphotos from Pixabay
Poetic form: Couplet
Fertile fields once full of pride,
Dying lands from thirst have dried.
Now undressed, laid bare and sad,
Verdant gowns their form once clad.
Clouds have come from far away,
Silent prayers the valleys send.
Bursts of tears appeared today;
Heaven cried, the land to mend.
© 2018, Angel L Villanueva. All rights reserved.
Image courtesy of Pexel
Poetic form: Rhyme
A white summer dress sways in the gentle breeze,
And the hot sun bathes with warmth the land it roams.
Light winds play with the leaves of towering trees,
A leafy haven where birds will build their homes.
New blooming flowers in scented garments glow;
They perfume the air as hummingbirds fly low.
Couples spread their blankets on the grassy field;
They sense summer's touch as their hearts to love yield.
© 2018, Angel L Villanueva. All rights reserved.
Image by JillWellington from Pixabay
Poetic form: Rispetto
It seems a dream, the warming touch,
A day of breeze, of clouds and such,
While standing at the ocean's edge,
And breathing life I love so much.
The sand cascades between my toes;
A nuanced bliss the waves compose.
Euphoria causes me to smile
While breathing in the briny rose
I love these lazy summer days,
Of picnics, parks, and warming rays;
Of swimming, running, biking slow;
Of holding hands with hearts ablaze.
Of children playing with their dogs;
Of turtles basking, stretched on logs;
Of mothers baking cakes and pies;
Of ponds that echo songs of frogs.
But summer won't forever last,
Yet here, the ocean's edge so vast,
It seems eternal runs the time,
While standing still, as waves recast.
© 2018, Angel L Villanueva. All rights reserved.
Image by Pixabay
Poetic form: Rubaiyat
The sunset soothes my mind on doleful days;
It bathes me in its lustrous orange blush.
When crickets start to chirp at fading rays,
The trees ring out with hymns from Swainson's thrush.
The graceful ballad sends my spirit higher;
My words begin to flow as if a song.
My mind is filled with lyrics set afire;
It moves my lips to join the splendid throng.
When day and night complete their graceful dance,
And hues begin to fade to twilight sleep,
The stars and moon observe this grand romance,
Then share their dazzling smiles, while dreams I reap.
© 2018, Angel L Villanueva. All rights reserved.
Image by pixel2013 from Pixabay
Poetic form: Quatrain - Elegiac Stanza
The annual seasons provide much in the way of inspiration to write about the beauty and delight they offer.
In these poems, the seasons are poetically described and personified, engaging the mind with imagery to further enhance our love and appreciation for the richness that surrounds us.
To read a poem, click on its thumbnail image.
Images used under Creative Commons CC0 license, permission from copyright owner, or public domain.