Tryst with Time

The full green
bounty of Summer
lived a while
and died into Autumn
enabling the birth
of spectacular Fall
with its riotous display
of unashamed color

Now the Fall
has begun its death also
And the glorious leaves
that adorned
the maples and oaks
are browning, shriveling
and being prepared to return
to the earth
where they came from

I love the Fall
it is my great teacher
It shows me
the dignity in death
It teaches me
about the necessity of death
for Life to continue
to renew itself

It is not worthwhile
to fight that
which is bigger than us
and seeks to devour us
for our own sake

It is worthwhile
only to fight that
which is smaller than us
and seeks to devour us
for its own sake

Watching the wind
sweep in
and stir up
the trees
Watching the leaves
respond to
wind's invitation
and give up
their attachment
to the tree
I weep silently
and acknowledge
the willingness
of my own wise heart
to die over and over again
to shed over and over again
to let go of that
whose tryst with time
is finally over

Love's beloved

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I see a world
that rejects love
and gorges itself
on a million flavors
of hatred

I see a world
that longs for love
but knows not
how to let it in
simply

I see a world
contorting in pain
twisting in agony
and so ripening
for release

This world
is in me
and I have known it
for long
intimately

I cry for this world
and its suffering
I cry for its fragility
and its coarseness
both

I cry long and hard
without hope
till I break down
into nothing
but tears

And then quite unexpectedly
from the tears
drained of hope
squeezed of self
love comes upon itself!

Love itself
in my scant remains!
A gift, a miracle
a thousand blessings
rolled into

One face
that I can no longer miss
whispering sweet nothings
into my ageless yearning
Bliss

fills the space
that I was
making new outlines,
like a master
painting his beloved

Mixing fire and blood
and tenderness
into new colors
that stain my bones
and form my skin

Love takes its time
crafting me anew
for some purpose
it knows
to be mine