The Graceful Swan of Autumn
My poem was inspired by an autumn afternoon walk on 17 October 2026
Upon the river Chelmer, soft with fading light,
A swan moves gently through the autumn day;
Her feathers hold the summer's lingering white,
As golden leaves drift silently away.
Around her, little cygnets softly glide,
While mallards gather where the waters gleam;
The emerald-headed drakes swim close beside,
Their gentle ripples wandering downstream.
The ageing ash trees shed their amber gold,
Their leaves of russet, orange, fading green;
And weeping willows, graceful as of old,
With their spear-shaped leaves, tender and lean.
She bows her head towards the mirrored sky,
As though in quiet thought, or silent prayer;
While scattered leaves go drifting by,
And autumn breathes its stillness through the air.
No crown adorns her, yet she seems a queen,
Her beauty neither borrowed nor displayed;
A quiet grace upon the changing scene,
Untroubled by the shadows evening made.
And watching her, I find a gentle peace,
A truth that words alone could never show;
That beauty lives in learning to release,
And grace in knowing when to let things go.
For seasons turn, and all we love must change,
Yet something tender lingers in their flight;
The swan glides on, serene through waters strange,
And carries autumn softly into twilight.
© A.Kariyawasam 2026
