falling

[tsriker]

the leaves caress my face
settling beside me,
all around me,
like dying coals of
palest gold, crimson, black
curled and withered,
rustling to the touch
of softest breezes.
i rest on the forest floor
embraced by lovely dying,
and close my eyes to the world
each breath rich with sweet decay
another lichened boulder
among so many
my heart pushes sacred waters
through me
beneath me
shadowed streams birthed from
vernal pools
i am failing like the leaves,
bound to the seasons of the year,
of my life
cycles, beginnings,
endings
i am falling,
falling,
falling,
into autumn
into my life
into her love.
i wish this fall
would never end,
for my fall is from
mine own hell
into a heaven
i've never earned