Before the leaves fall

A throwback from the yellow-er days

Photo taken by author

Hands in moist dirt,
Fragrant with leaves. 
Yellow overhead,
Falling from trees.
Aspens erect,
Soft,
But steady.

How will we know when each leaf is ready?

How can you glisten when your next move is death?

Do you know you’re the most beautiful in the light of sunset?

You’re both going down, yellow and bright,
But you blaze our eyes with furious delight. 

Could it be in the decent that your presence becomes most stark?
In your final moment before meeting the dark?

You force us awake,
To see you now.
To be touched by splendor,
Below each brow.

And even deeper,
To feel each kiss ~
To remember the times when our minds were remiss.

But you’re here now.
And that’s what’s true.
When the sky turns magenta, 
We don’t miss the blue.

We turn our attention to the change of light-
It’s different, and fading, and a glorious sight.

When the change comes,
We must let it take place.
And we must take in the beauty, 
At Earth’s cyclical pace. 

And yes,
We will grasp onto what was before.
We will cry and scream and fall to the floor.
But the leaves will continue to sparkle,
And the sun will be replaced with the moon,

And luckily, we know, another dawn will come soon. 

---

XoXo, 
💜 Juniper