Unleaving

Margaret, are you grieving
Over Goldengrove unleaving?
Leaves like the things of man, you
With your fresh thoughts care for, can you?

Spring and Fall, Gerard Manley Hopkins

This poem often comes into my mind when I'm walking in the woods at this time of year. It captures very well the feeling of melancholy that autumn can bring. And I love his use of the word 'unleaving', with its many layers of meaning including both permanence and something being discarded or taken off.