Long and cold shadows embrace the earth, as darkness slowly settles down

Long and cold shadows embrace the earth, as darkness slowly settles down, Soon there will appear corners where the light will no longer dare to enter, And the river, covered in its autumn coat, will wear fallen leaves like a regal garment. My walks grow shorter, their paths constricting, Tightening into an ever-diminishing circumference around my home. I feel a rush in the depths of my mind, an urgent need To gather and store everything I can before being confined To a narrow room. I capture pieces of sky, floating reflections, silhouettes of trees, Anything and everything that can fill my memory, Creating a repository of recollections for my poems to savor When I find myself locked In a room of darkness, with no beyond. With each step, I gaze at the sky in shades of gray and blue, absorbing the stillness And melancholy that intertwine in the cool evening air, Holding everything close to the soul, knowing that the winter of the mind approaches, And there will be moments when the cut of light will seem like a distant dream. I quicken my steps and my heartbeat, gathering images and sounds, Like an alchemist transforming ephemeral moments into sacred gold, A treasure for dark days, nourishment for the poems that seek to illuminate the darkness With rays anchored in memory, wrapping each word In fractured light, captured from autumn days. Thus, I prepare for the time of isolation, when shadows will be my only friends, And in the stillness of long nights, I will dance with the gathered memories, Weaving the thread of thoughts with unfulfilled dreams, And each step taken in darkness will be lit by the stars I have collected in the days that have passed.