Day 21.
My heart is consumed with the soft melodic whisper of fall;
the gentle rustle of leaves as they become brittle
rattling like the empty cage of bones in a harsh winter wind.
I pulled apart pieces of my sweater and tied them to trees
to bind the naked limbs of outstretched arms
with skeleton hands to bony to find the warmth
that fills winter hearths with a fire burning
that speaks with the barely audible crackle like a leaf stepped on
just as it finally found a common place with comrades
just as brittle and lonely as itself.
But the comfort of fall has been long gone
this sun brings back the leaves to the naked trees
the new sprouting buds cover
the ties of cotton wrapped around their growing arms
that I left behind on a cold autumn day
hoping the trees wouldn’t feel quite so alone.