We spend the afternoon
filling several builders’ bags
with leaves.

Rust-coloured beech leaves,
all shiny and smooth.
Brown, furled oak leaves,
all dried-out and dull.
Floppy, brown sycamore leaves
with beautiful red stems.
Golden cherry tree leaves,
shaped like feathers.
Bruised apples left strewn
on the grass
for peckish blackbirds.
And all the while
the wind playing chasies
with the leaves!

An afternoon of hard work –
raking leaves, bagging leaves
(and drinking tea, of course!)
As my Daddy says,
“Hard work’s not easy
and easy work’s hard to find!”

But, as darkness falls,
a real sense of accomplishment.

Paul and me
working side by side
and a sense of pride
in a lawn cleared (for now!)
of leaves.

An acceptance that,
in a few days’ time,
we’ll need to do it
all over again.
But that’s okay –
we’ll do it again
together.
Sure isn’t that what marriage
is all about?

Thank you, Lord, for the gift
of these beautiful autumn leaves
and also for the gift
of a happy marriage.

© Claire Murray, 26th November 2021