Autumn Light

Autumn light Softly they walk on a day in October The old man and sunlight among olive trees Planted when his grandfather was young. On the track hove marks from sheep That walk here daily on the way home After grazing upland. Bits of fleece on thorny bushes Black pellets and the pungent aroma Of the woolly-backed still lingers. He sees the old cottage, warped roof And bushes grow through the floor He doesn’t stop; it was all so long ago. Light is fading time, to leave for him Autumn evening evenings can be chilly Not so good for his chest.