Autumn: The Ambassador of Loss

She makes herself known with a whisper,
A long, cool breath dancing effortlessly across the landscape.
At dawn, the bunnies shake off their damp coats,
And the ravens caw their good mornings with a shiver.
With the arrival of the afternoon sun,
The dew drops say their farewells.

She is unhurried.
The dissolution steady and deliberate,
Resolute and determined in her movement
Toward unbecoming.

She moves the vitality underground,
A life force held preciously
For safekeeping,
As her emergence heralds shorter days and longer nights.

She asks that we honour her arrival,
As the ambassador of loss.
Revere her majesty,
As the harbinger of integration.

With a rustle, she tells us stories of loss and longing,
Teaches us to surrender
Our iron grip on life,
Helps us to cross the threshold

Over and over,
And over again.
For it is in the yellowing
That we find wholeness.

When we awaken from the dream,
Feel her breath on our skin,
And remember.

She is ephemeral.
We are ephemeral.
Life is ephemeral.
And, oh! What to do now?

What else to do now but surrender?
To yield and submit oneself
To her truth.
To have the courage to live anyway.