…not wanting to let go

As the last glow of the sun, lingers on the horizon
like a lover’s last kiss, or a butterfly’s final flutter
shadows are deepening and the day
unwillingly shedding its colours
as the night blossoms in silken whispers
I am a tree alone with the moon
beyond the edge of the world
where I see the light as a part of the dark
silvered upon the edges of my fragile leaves
and fear is lingering, tremulously inside of me
my precious leaves are fighting to hold on
but I know that ultimately all will succumb
as the season will take its course
and as I watch, the world descends into night
my heart aches for that thin bright line
in its final moments, that eternal struggle
between the darkness and the light
is it a metaphor for life and death?
or love and loss? lingering, not ready to let go?
just as my last leaf is clinging to its branch
just a heartbeat away from emptiness
shivering, it watches other leaves
gently carried by the autumn breeze
and wonders what awaits below
as the wind circles it like prey
until it can no longer hold on
and tumbles down to the ground
swimming in a leafy sea of chaos and uncertainty
but in its demise new life begins
becoming nourishment for the earth
that once nurtured other leaves
endings are just another beginning
and in time another tree will take my place
and another leaf will have to face its final season
and like this last glow upon the horizon
in this last moment of hope
it will be lingering until the end, not wanting to let go
© Ann Bagnall