Falling Leaves, Fading Chapters

I watched a leaf release its breath, A golden sigh upon the air. It tumbled softly into death, A quiet dance without despair. The wind, a gentle funeral song, Caressed it with a lover’s grace. It drifted, weightless, swept along, No bitterness upon its face. I thought of all I’ve had to leave, The hands, the homes, the hollow years. I thought of how we choose to grieve, Of all we bury in our tears. I saw myself in autumn’s fall, A fragile thing, a fleeting name. Each chapter closed, each silent call, A softer ending than I claim. I let the stillness speak to me, I let the branches bend and sigh. I let the leaf teach how to be— To let things go without goodbye. The leaves fall not from spite or fear, But from a life that must renew. Their fading paints the earth sincere, A quiet blaze in every hue. I whispered thanks to every breeze, To every stem that dared release. I whispered as the shadows seized, And felt within a tender peace. The leaf, the loss, the letting go— All part of something vast and kind. A truth the autumn leaves still know: We lose, we fall, we rise, we find.