the Fall bares my soul

in the Fall the trees are denuded of leaves

by the cold, the seasonal change, except for
a few that stubbornly cling, hold on tight
and when the white of winter snow covers
the tops of limbs, these leaves wear the snow
like shawls, dressed for the dance with the wind

tall green leaf sprouts of lilies and tulips

lay wet and still on mother earth’s chest
awaiting for the synthesis into loam, 
the sacrifice to feed newborn in life's quest

like the lonely leaf that bears the cold

holding onto the finger and hand of its root,
my soul hangs onto this incarnate being
to wear the mundane wrappings so that the
eyes behold, the ears fill with nature’s song,
the lips kiss the day and night and the heart
dances in the embrace of love