Autumn Colours

Short poem written after quite a difficult personal episode.

Autumn Colours

Red light in front, white behind,
Tailgated in valley rain that falls like lead.
Doggedly I keep the pace,
My only view, wet stones and fog:

Then a sign, a road to the left
And on a chance, I slow and cause
A consternation of horns
For the rash decision I’ve made

I slog up towards a watery sky
Engine faltering; I’m glad to stop
Autumn colours are delicate,
In thin and lonely upland woods.

I would like to go higher still
But the time is not yet come
while I hear the sounds of traffic
From the valley road, below.