I made a ring of leaves
on the autumn grass:
I was a fairy queen all day.
Inside the ring, the wind wore sandals
not to make a noise of going.
The caterpillars, like little snow men,
had wound themselves in their winter coats.
The hands of the trees were bare
and their fingers fluttered.
I was a queen of yellow leaves and brown,
and the redness of my fairy ring
kept me warm.
For the wind blew near,
though he made no noise of going,
and I hadn't a close-made wrap
like the caterpillars.
Even a queen of fairies can be cold
when summer has forgotten and gone!
keep me warm, red leaves;
Don't let the frost tiptoe into my ring
on the magic grass!