The earth cracks
shifts, slants 
Breath stills
Spirit sinks until
all that’s left 
is a husk
Life evaporates 
like a magic trick
Up in the sky
stars glitter 
Sharp pointed teeth
waiting
Dying leaves shivering
and rattling
on branches 
trying to  hold on
Trying

It's a gloomy morning here with a cold, steady rain falling. I suppose it's got me in a blue-ish mood. Not all-the-way blue, just a little bit. The current prompt on dVerse Poets Pub is to write a quadrille including the word "shivering". Merril explains that a quadrille is a poem of exactly 44 words in any style. Thanks to dVerse for providing a steady stream of great prompts, even though I don't always participate. Click here for other poems written for this prompt.