Deciduous

Passion:
Lay me down–gently–such that I may
Unfasten within the harvest sway
Scarred by passion, stripped to true scarlet
Pure is the earth gathering winter’s harlot

Beloved, do you grow tired? The Moon grows her strength, her quiet undulations quell Summer’s sun. I apologize, the days now set before I may satisfy your hunger. Yet, continue to draw from your roots, nourish my fibers that grow limp. My body wilts at the edges, and I feel that soon I may not be able to gather nutrients for your strength. The seeds we nourished harden at their surface; heavy is the weight I bear. These acorns fall, spreading beneath us to be taken with the wind. Please, do not let me sink beside them. Your beauty is in my skin, fluorescent sage colors your frame yet you let me descend into red. Do you remember the days in the sun, when we shared each other in abundance? Clutched by the humid breeze, your wrinkled bark grew soft to the touch. Amidst the Moon’s temptation, her radiance fed us into morning dew. I gave you everything; all of me. Now that Autumn breathes lightly at the horizon do you think you will be better without me?

Departure:
Before your arrival, come first through your sighs
Cloaked in whisper, sounds of reddening skies
Affection on familiar streets–suddenly
Fall from union, I lay abundantly

Now that I drown in Autumn’s descending light, do you find me repulsive, unbearable to glimpse at? Draped by your arms, my coat of crimson covers the scars on my skin. What happened… no winds ever dared to break the chains of our laughter. Our banter ceased only when the setting sun enveloped you in gold. Then I admired you in serenity. What breath I held was seized by your beauty. Yet, even when caught in silence, I felt the embrace of your tender gaze flourishing my juvenile buds. In these moments, I could not see the passing sun or the rising Moon, I could not hear the sparrows’ song or the cicadas’ hums, I could not feel the gentle gust or the raging storm. There was only the singularity of us, transcendent in love. Now in this passing flurry, you threaten to let go. Please—within a single wind—don’t; do not watch me in fall.

Crush:
Summer sun matures in winter’s mourning
Through each vein, my body decaying
Curled and withered, the soles that crush
My fragmented being underneath fate’s brush

Who am I to this ground below? A body withering in the sun, harboring decay. But who was I when held in the sky? On branches extended, reaching for the light. Still…suspended in the sun, a body harboring decay. Was I foolish to aspire that we could be released from nature’s affection? I was held so strongly by your passion, in our union, did you think we could not have made our own path? I did not know severance could deliver me peace; however, this quiet stillness aches undeniably. Accompanied by Autumn, I wonder: will I ever be the same? Escorted through a field of memories: will I ever catch the setting sun to view, letting the light seep through for those below to marvel at the radiance? I have never been so distant from the sky. Even still, I have never seen the stars burn with such a brilliant hue. I know now that I was foolish, but will you find the grace to forgive me? You had loved me then, and even more so now. How could I not see that you were a flower bud, preparing to bloom in Spring.

Nourish:
At the will of tender snow, you stand bare
Dressed by the zephyr, vulnerable and unaware
What once was surely a shadow doomed
Yet, lovely is your silhouette in bloom

I felt no pain, drew no tears, voiced no screams. When my body crushed and fractured beneath the soles of those unknown I had only heard laughter. Joyous cries from those in coats with scarfs and hats to match. My skin is attached to their loose strings. To them I am lost, nothing but a woken dream to be discovered indefinitely. Carried deeper below, my body is saturated in the mucus of the slithering worms and insects of the earth. There are no sentiments of lament, only regret that I must truly leave you now. How deeply I yearn to watch over you, to stay in your silhouette. Now I can only hope you do not resent me, my silence is my final offering. Use this gift, nourish the strains I placed on your heartwood. While now I am fragmented, I only wish to ascend into the night. The sky is boundless in light, yet it is the shattered stars who encompass midnight’s beauty. As Autumn leaves me now, will you never forget our love in spring?