Autumn

Autumn, you take a piece of my spirit.
I feel you pulling it away
As each afternoon draws to twilight
And the sun completes the day.

Oh, sun in autumn,
You are a lover leaving
And breaking my heart.
You belabor my breathing.

The crimson fire the trees wear
Are but a taunting;
A promise broken when you disrobe,
Leaving me wanting.

Crisp winds clean the air
So I can see your blue sky.
But, alas, you chill me;
An embrace you deny.

Forgive me for loving you
For only what you give,
But when you come, I know
It's time to barely live.

I've wondered as seasons
Have come and gone
Why this sadness
Always comes on.

It is you, autumn, teaching me
To draw strength from within,
Not to fall prey to winter,
Not to give in.

How easy it would be
To sleep nights long and cold
And not to step outside in the day
Among your tree friends of old.

But, autumn, when your fire
Has lost all of its light
I see silhouettes of the trees
Against the pink twighlight.

It's worth the longing I feel
When you arrive,
To see the trees reaching,
So bare, but alive!