Autumn In the Glen

There are showers of leaves within our glen Because autumn has come upon us I go there often, each tortuous step To remember and to imagine You danced here in exuberant circles Arms extended, whirling madly Celebrating who you were in a moment of magic Before laughing and collapsing upon the leaves That God had painted for your pleasure You tilted your lips to accept my kiss And I consumed your beauty, gathering it Into my soul like the promises of all the gods And in that moment when your laughter faded Into the softness of deep wonder You were more beautiful than all your yesterdays And birds hushed in worship of you The breeze surrendered and the clock suspended Because it was a moment indelible upon itself I pause at the place where you danced And examine the marvels of the new season Of how the earth has dressed itself in gaudy colors And realize that if I were God in constant creation I would have made you no differently than you were Nothing would I have changed for I saw you Only in your perfection while blind to flaw or error I saw you as the autumn leaf in all its brazen colors But as I reached for it, the wind blew it away