November

The stripped and shapely
Maple grieves
The ghosts of her
Departed leaves.

The ground is hard,
As hard as stone.
The year is old,
The birds are flown.

And yet the world,
In its distress,
Displays a certain
Loveliness.
-   John Updike, A Child's Calendar   

 November, encaustic on panel, 6x14in, 2013