Falling

Once upon a time, there were 88.                                

the first golden leaf fell silently.

87.

nobody missed it,

or knew it was gone,

the sun shone brightly in the morning.

but nothing lasts forever, and so,

it began.

undetected whispers passed for months

while the sun slowly set,

and when suspected the least,

13 more had left the tree,

76.

now, though,

someone knew.

the next three weeks,

and 40 leaves had fallen

36.

yet, still we wandered blindly

through 20 days

of autumn haze

and still we had thought nothing.

nothing of the golden sun

whom we loved so much.

14 more days

and 20 more leaves had fallen

16.

and that was the day

that everything changed

and our sun sat on the horizon.

three more months was all we had

to savour the sun

but time avoids those who need it,

and we were no exception.

three months had gone

16 leaves had fallen

and with them went our golden sun,

fallen behind the horizon.   

Once upon a time

is not a promise.

Once upon a time does not mean

Happily Ever After.