The harbinger of change is upon us again
autumn is the most articulate season
it knows how to speak in endings
the first leaf lets go from its branch
in exquisite resignation
nature is accustomed to the inevitability
of the changing seasons
what cannot be carried forward
must be laid to rest
I find myself relating to the season
for I feel it deep in my bones
this seasonal accounting
the quiet inventory of loss
there is grief, but also the elegance of endings
we can learn so much from them
about how to let go beautifully
how to leave, without denying what is lost
how to understand that bare
is not the same as empty
for when the last leaves fall
they are never gone
they return to the earth
a promise of something, not yet named
©Ann Bagnall
Annie's Poetry 