Farewell to Autumn

You left your scarf beside the door
The wool still holds the shape of your hands
Outside, the maples trade their green
For copper, rust, and amber strands
I take the long way past the school
Where we once raced the falling leaves
The painted bench is wearing gold
And keeps the place where you would lean

The season turns without a sound
A page of red comes drifting down

Autumn, lay your colors on the road
Let the crimson find the words I never told
Every branch lets go, but none forgets
How the summer warmed the edges of our days
If I meet you where the last leaves spin
I will say your name and let the quiet in
Gold and scarlet, tender as goodbye
You are still the brightest color in my mind

Your mother’s pear tree bends with fruit
The kitchen window fogs at dusk
I see the bowl you always filled
With apples brushed in morning dust
The porch boards creak beneath my boots
One loose green shutter taps the wall
I thought that time would thin the ache
Instead, it taught me how to hold it all

The colder air moves through the town
And every leaf comes gently down

Autumn, lay your colors on the road
Let the crimson find the words I never told
Every branch lets go, but none forgets
How the summer warmed the edges of our days
If I meet you where the last leaves spin
I will say your name and let the quiet in
Gold and scarlet, tender as goodbye
You are still the brightest color in my mind

Maybe love is not the staying
Maybe love is what remains
In the cinnamon on your old coat
In the gold along the windowpane
So I’ll leave the porch light burning
Though the nights grow long and cold
Somewhere in these turning colors
You are walking home with me

Autumn, lay your colors on the road
Let the crimson carry all the words I know
Every branch lets go, but none forgets
How your laughter warmed the edges of my days
If I meet you where the last leaves spin
I will say your name and let the quiet in
Gold and scarlet, tender, fierce, and bright
You are still the color that outlasts the night

The scarf is folded by the door
The maples turn, and I remember