…not wanting to 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
is 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
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
slowly 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
