Leaves On a Stream

They tell me to let it go Thoughts leaves on a stream In the grove of trees Lies my willow golden Blown by winds and rain By a reaching brook Leaves butterflies descending Pacific take these wings In each leaf that falls Lies a thought disowned My soul hoping to lay down On a raft of fallen leaves I let go of all my precious Till I am bare in winter The seasons concluding My chiffon hair denuded Pointless to hold summer When leaves on a stream fall Carry all my failures away Carry all my forgiveness Till only branches remain A weeping skeleton bereft In the grove the axe swings Seeds for the new year adrift Far and near hibernating My seeds herald the way To the ocean we all go Leaves on a stream churn Branches cut from the trunk The last stem won’t let go Let me hold on to one more My dress too bare to bear Winter is the axe man In the autumn of youth I hold on to leaves leaving Ashamed of bare branches In the grove of trees In the autumnal gold We will all be sticks Set the last thought free Rest my soul on it However precious Embrace the cut Ride to the ocean Without dressing Without a thought