Lilly May
There’s a country cat named Lilly May
Who sits outside on the wall each day
Watching the trees that line the shore
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She sits there waiting for Autumn to come
Far from the countryside where she’s from
In a place she’s never been before
She misses the changing leaves
So she sits outside in the breeze
Watching and waiting
For the leaves to start fading
And colors to fill up the trees
All the while
Back past the gate by the firewood pile
An alley cat sits on the shack
He sees Lilly May leaving sad each day
And he sees that she always comes back
The leaves stayed green, no changes came
As the days disappeared, her hopes did the same
While the Fall fell deeper into Fall
The alley cat watched there from his spot
Pacing the roof as he pondered and thought
About sad Lilly May out there on the wall
Then…
Not the following day, but the day after that
Lilly May came out to sit where she sat
Where sunlight scatters as morning spreads
But when she looked up, sure enough
From the hillside field to the ocean bluff
The leaves fizzed in yellows, oranges and reds
All day long she sat and grinned
Watching the trees blow in the wind
As the colored leaves played and teased
The alley cat sat on top of that shed
Filled with empty paint cans, orange yellow and red
Watching Lilly May be perfectly pleased.