AUTUMNAL

Roget has eighty names of reds and greens,
Seventy yellows, thirty of oranges
And pinks: we need them all and more to express
The rioting autumn glory of haloed trees.

Driving north before dusk the hues astound,
Blazing a blended palette that speaks the divine:
Burning bushes–crimson, gold and wine;
And fiery furnaces–flaming, trumpet-tongued.

And aureoles transfigured, edged in blood.
The return is black, except when high-beams flash
A smudge of color dying. The raven touch
of Rembrandt overlays the Renoir mood,

And hours of night become a foretaste of
Existence drained of life and joy and love.

(60, October 17, 1992)

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Comment

Here is a reference to 40 words related to the color orange.