The Gifts of Autumn

How bittersweet

is the whisper of autumn

the days growing shorter

as the cool air

stings the skin,

the refuge of more layers.

Yet before I go inside

and surrender to the coming winter

let me pause

to admire the gifts

that autumn brings.

Leaves shouting

their full measure in color,

celebrating the pure joy

of living

and of dying.

                                                                                                                                                             The moon shines brighter

against the darker skies,

light illuminating dark

where before there was just shadow.

Even the coyotes howl

is sharper in the cooler air,

calling me home

to the demons I’ve slayed,

where obstacles now lay fallen like so many leaves.

And in this autumn pathway

I see the boy

who has become a man,

taken his place amidst the vast expanse.

I pick a leaf from the ground

and smile.

I stepped forward.

My heart is singing

knowing this song will long endure

when my leaves have fallen

and been reclaimed by mother earth.