Aubergine

Leaves fall
that's why they call it that
leaves fall like old paper cutouts
squirrels are snipping away
in the upper branches of the trees
sycamores, all knees and elbows
akimbo to oaks and maples
and the gingko's golden fans
cooling the air
just in time for fall

In the graveyard
historical ghosts
play host to children
shuffling ankle deep in leaves
loosely weaving a mesh
betweens the webs of old spiders
and the eroding stones
with their years fading away

The circling cycles
pirouettes and spirals
a twisting curve winding
up into the sky with the wind
and crumbling down into dust
the revolving earth
doing what it must

Leaves fall
when daylight diminishes
it is our time now, we know
we will surrender and go
we submit to the gravity
of this transient situation
and though we might softly meander
we will not leave quietly
instead we will shout with brilliance
in shades of ochre
amber
and aubergine