Bronze, Scarlet and Burnished Gold

Hunkering down, cinnamon-spiced lattes and...spiders. Arghhhh!

Bronze, scarlet and burnished gold
Curly, crisp and meek to fold
Cascades of colour brightly adorn
The threshold of each new morn

Softly, silently, pearl drops of dew 
Whispering gently to revive the hue
Alas, in vain they glisten so fresh
Upon those crippled fingers of flesh

Wiry gauntlets pierce grey skies
Beguiled, bespangled, heavenwards rise 
Mystical, chanting on sombre key
Ablaze with rustic anonymity

Those brazen sprays of lacy leaves 
Dance in earnest upon the breeze
Trunks twisted, gnarled and grey 
The splendours of an Autumnal day

I wrote this poem some years ago and at this time of the year, as the vibrant greens turn to yellow, through scarlet to burnished gold, for me it’s a time of reflection.

This is a photograph from my office window which overlooks my garden (I know, how lucky am I?) and you can see the amazing range of colours at this time of the year.

The nights are drawing in and a sure sign that Autumn/Fall is here is the presence of spiders - they’re everywhere! In the bath, on the ceilings, in my bed…yes. As I was snuggling down under the duvet after a long and tiring day, I felt something tickling my leg and thought nothing of it, until it happened again, and again. I might add that I HATE spiders. As a teenager living at home on the farm (I think all creepy crawlies are super-sized on farms) I had the same tickling sensation while snuggling down in bed one night and discovered that an uninvited ENORMOUS black, long-legged spider was keeping me company.

Back to the tickling sensation. When I realised that my husband and I might have an uninvited guest in our bed, I leapt up, screamed (I think this happened simultaneously, to be honest) and flicked on the bedside lamp, dancing and yelping (much to his annoyance). ‘There’s a spider in the bed!’

His response?