Traversing Autumn’s Path #poetry #photography #loss

Her hands clasped to mine

we walked along autumn’s path

crunching beneath our feet

the remnants of yesterday’s glory

she picked up a leaf

what I thought was dew was a tear

“why do you cry, my love?”

my eyes thoughtful

“life is perishing beneath our feet

we are crushing aged spring

we walk the burial ground of the seasons”

“press this amber leaf against your heart

feel its resonating warmth

hear him tell you his story

let it be a reminder of the past

then welcome the new season

a time for ends and reflection

reach your hands to grasp the snowflakes

purity falls over barren trees

and spring returns to remind us

of that which we have lost

and of that which we might gain”

“another year of this loss?”

I saw her eyes pool

“I don’t think I can bare it”

“but another year of promise as well

life, love and new beginnings

those too will grow in the coming year

one day we will look back

the skeletons beneath our feet

will not sound like death with each step

I will once again look up

and see life blossoming in your eyes”

This week marks the second anniversary of the death of a child in our neighborhood  who was tragically swept away by a flash flood The lights represent candles and sentiments that lined the family’s driveway last year. Blue ribbons hang, year round, on our trees, sign posts and mailboxes in memory of this loss..