Not often that late night conversations,
Have led to late night revelations,
And left me standing where I belong,
Standing quietly;
Watching with steadfast eyes
As a cold gust of wind
Delivers dying leaves to their resting grounds,
Green beauty, now cast down to join the shadows…
Mourned by branches that shudder with grief.

I stand and watch, oblivious to all else,
It all seems dormant; hidden away from the cold…
Yet the leaves still fall,
Turning and drifting
In the unforgiving wind,
Before plummeting silently…
Never finding their place;
No chance of any other fate.

I watch one as it makes its final journey into the inevitable…
Falling and twisting just like me.
Feasible, but
For a moment there is hope;
Sudden updrafts…
Send the leaf away
To another place, towards the light
But when it has just begun to clear the underlying graveyard…
It falls again.

Faster and faster, turning wildly,
Spurred on by the gusts of icy wind
I stand firm and watch.
Another updraft, I hold my breath
Will I fall?

A ray of sunlight…
Breaks through the branches
Illuminating the dried husk which falls to its' doom;
Almost there,
Yet hovering closely above others that fell to their final
Rest.

Another updraft catches it, but I turn away,
Overhanging branches moan in agony…
More of their children fall,
As I hold firm in the chilling wind.

I find myself walking off,
Knowing the fate already
A final plea, cries of anguish behind me…
As I too, am caught in the updraft,
And drifting in the wind.

-SP

If you [Log In] as a member you can discuss this work with others