wilted

Summer gives way to fall, becomes winter

Those old joyful days fade with the sunlight

Engulfed by the distance, fade fainter

May this memory fade to one more bright

Leaves are scattered over the path, but not

Leaves that crunch when trodden, they just wither

And as all things trodden upon, they rot

And in time, are consumed by the ether

I tempt the question, “will I too, perish?”

If I play the leaf, and fate the fell foot

Wilted, I cannot hope to be cherished

The forest burned down, entombed in the soot

When all that remains is the empty path

The ashes sing a silent epitaph