The Leaves Dying on Trees

the leaves dying on trees

will soon be turning brown

the beauty of letting go

gracefully falling down

watching each leaf detach 

from the window closed for the rest of the year

with the end of the summer near

already the next season grows

slowly and surely

as cold wind gets ready

to nip at my peeling suntan

shiver me to the bone

with no one to cuddle or dream of

alone in a home

an empty apartment 

as I lie on the sofa, book in hand

the sun flickering through the spaces

where rustling leaves had been

resting in summer's afterglow

of sultry places I used to know

popping up in daydream fragments

reminding me of all I have done

everywhere I've been

before this lifetime intermission 

with places still to go

September 28, 2021