Directly outside my chapel window

Two autumn trees

Display their beauty of God,

Author of all trees.

Their colors so proudly show

Glowing gold and crimson red.

What a gift to enjoy

Such a magnificent creative picture.

A blanket of red leaves

Covers a well formed tree,

Hiding its wooden branches

Like a full blown balloon.

The glowing golden tree

Is less full,

Showing its dark wooden branches

That provide year around stability.

Between these two trees

Is a clear opening

With a distant bluff embracing

The Minnesota River waters below.

There are trees rooted in water

With colored tops.

The river floods adjacent low lands

All coming from the painting hand of God.

The mind and heart wonder

Where each leaf originates.

So many trees in the world

And each leaf proudly owns a unique pattern.

Thank you Lord God

In your majestic love and power

For giving us trees

And new leaves every year.

Fr. Germain Rademacher

New Ulm