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.