feuille-morte

slow rot drifts down, as

memories of summer fade

lurid wistfulness

~~~

I thought the ghastly history of the word "lurid" makes it a fitting adjective for this haiku and also a great word for describing the color of the dying leaves. The word comes from the Latin 'luridus', which was used in the 17th century to describe the pale yellowish color of diseased or bruised skin.

"Feuille-morte" is a French expression, that literary translates to 'dead leaf'. As a color, it describes a dark and deep brownish orange.