Autumn's Ghost

I am the sigh in the sugar maple

The final blush upon the vine

The unseen hand that steals the apple

And untwists the rose from its design

I am the chill you feel at evening

That wasn't there the day before

A silent and a gentle grieving

For what the summer held in store

I am Autumn's Ghost, a memory taking form

A whisper of the coming storm

I paint the world in fire and gold

A beautiful lie, before the world grows cold

I dance in the rain of the sycamore leaves

And gather the harvest of yesteryear's sheaves

I am the beauty you cannot hold

The story of Autumn, forever told

I am the scent of woodsmoke clinging

A phantom warmth against the grey

The final note the crickets are singing

Before they, too, are swept away

I am the friend who walks beside you

In the shortening of the days

A fleeting presence here to guide you

Through the year's end's hazy maze

I am Autumn's Ghost, a memory taking form

A whisper of the coming storm

I paint the world in fire and gold

A beautiful lie, before the world grows cold

I dance in the rain of the sycamore leaves

And gather the harvest of yesteryear's sheaves

I am the beauty you cannot hold

The story of Autumn, forever told

Do not mourn the vibrant turning

The quiet death, the landscape burning

For in this end, a truth I keep:

The deepest beauty lies in sleep

In letting go, we learn to find

The peaceful stillness of the mind

I am not an end, but a release

A promise of eventual peace

I AM Autumn's Ghost, a memory now made form!

I AM the whisper of the coming storm!

I PAINT the world in fire and gold!

A beautiful truth, before the world grows cold!

I DANCE in the rain of the sycamore leaves!

And gather the love that the summer believes!

I AM the beauty you finally see...