Autumn Samples

Bright bolts of gold and crimson

And fleeting saffron, too,

Come tumbling down the hillside

As autumn passes through,

Much like a peddler showing

A many-colored cloak

To maple tree and chestnut

And then to ash and oak.

The brief display’s too splendid

To penetrate the mind.

Are autumn leaves the samples

The peddler left behind?