Cinnamon thistles,
spicy paprika autumn.
Wool socks,
caterpillar curled in the
grey soil where cabbage once grew.
Withered wet grass
humming in the
bitter bite of breeze.
Prickly milkweed
and silken clover.
A gypsy moth twirls by.
Violet beads trickle
down from whispering tendrils,
the shedded skins of rain clouds.
Iced cranberry
roses,
their crimson petals trapped in frostbite.
The freckles of mist, the
flecks of topaz,
the grey mist of sea.

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Nicole Grinsell, Age 12
Greenwood School
Mill Valley, California
Teacher: Devika Brandt