broken leaves litter the rust-stained earth / we watch from above / knowing / another gust is coming / and then the deluge 

fallen beloveds trampled / crunched and crackling / so many colors / so many pained gasps / gravelly and feeble 

white-knuckled / grasping where there used to be safety / finding merely a brittle stem / our grip is failing

a faint smoke the advance guard / choking / we can only rattle in the breeze

but oh, the colors!