because fall winds blow
we know of endings
the bending of branches bared
not spared the site of withering
the shivering as we witness the demise
despise the coming cold
the coming old not just of hard ground
but all 'round the freezing of the self
the teasing bold approach of death
catching breath as we see autumn's dropping
the stopping of the life we clutch
with such desperation to prolong

but the song of death sings on
brings on the certainty of resting
testing our slow gratitude
that attitude that when God gives
we live
must ourselves give
fully live fully

Text and image © 2012 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.