NATURE’S GRAVEYARD
(A Fall Visit)

 I sat alone in grass & soil
nature’s graveyard ceases toil
dust of the living under my feet
shades of shadows, temporary defeat
gravestones are each blade of grass
trampled by travelers coming to pass
looking for a brand new soul
or something that would make them whole
the sky’s pillows are grey & full
soon the earth will begin its pull
to call the clouds to kiss the site
and shower with rain’s pure delight
of love departed but not yet lost
but soon to be covered in winter gloss
to purify the sanctuary graves
and free them from their lives as slaves
a spider stumbles looking for life
perhaps his own, one free from strife
but all is gone & brushed away
as did the glow of summer day
dull greens & browns now decorate
where life did somehow meet its fate
the wind seems hollow as a cold frost
it bids farewell to the loves it lost
I feel a movement on my hand
as I look closely, a hidden strand
a lifeline made by a lonely soul
the spider searching for his goal
thinks he found a friend left behind
but I am not of his kind
I try to understand in vain
and push my visitor back in the rain
I see myself in my spider friend
but I feel the visit should quickly end
so I say goodbye never to return
for his lesson’s not the one I learn
I look upon my sister pine
and softly say, “I wish you were mine.”
I sit still long and gather its bulk
its life, its dreams, its strife, its hope
and as I sit taking in its wealth
a single leaf falls from lack of health
for winter’s soon to be on its way
the soil is loose & the dead brushed away
and someday i’ll become it too
i’ll melt away with the morning dew
to preserve my burial ground I will strive
I promise you, while i’m still alive.