The Autumn Pool

Another leaf drifts down
And lands silently on the stagnant pool,
Now cool in the depth of Autumn.
A faint ripple and then stillness.
So many leaves…
Like memories they float on the surface
Hiding the cracked tiles below,
Shaken from the once-proud elm,
Now grown thin, naked, ashamed.
The pool is deep and musty,
With a faint smell of decay.
There are no children splashing happily,
No excited laughter in the boyish sky,
Just leaves.