The winds of autumn shall soon blow
Verdant leaves that in summer show
Cascading, floating, golden-red
And make a copper- russet bed
      Before 'tis white with quilted snow ...

The burnished rays of autumn's glow
Will implore Summer's heat to go
As falling leaves shall dance and shed
The winds of autumn...

And those sweet seeds that I shall sow
Tenderly- someday, bloom and grow
Where hopes of life so gently tread
As I, on earth, shall rest my head
All seasons of this life to know
The winds of autumn...

Somewhere along the way
I picked up a heavy load
of dead wood, a couple of degrees
east of East Tennessee,
a few bottles uncorked,
problem women, and another
woman, a child, and a mortgage,
all while I wandered down the left fork
of the wrong road like the red silt
in a river that has forgotten
its source, but enjoying the scenery,
the journey, and, of course,
the paths I tended to leave
through the high weeds where I lost
myself and my footprints so loud
I could hear them before I left them
on the ground behind me
like hollow dreams trampled down
beneath the feet that I follow.

If you asked me
How do I know what love feels like,
I will know simply because
You say the word love
And I think of you,
In shades of red
And shades of blue.

And people ask me
What love means,
And I think of sunsets so orange,
And I think of sea-foam so green.

And if I could
Describe
What it means
To be alive,
I would tell you
All that I know
To be true.

That you cannot wait
Until you are ready.
Or else you and your hands
Will never write steady,

You must dive head first,
Into everything you desire,
Because if you do not
It will simply add more fuel
To regret's fire.

And you must love
With all that you are.
Because any less
Is not love by far.

You must risk
Facing a burn,
For you must trust in me,
You will find your love and truth
In turn.

I love you,
And all that you are,
And all that you do.
Whether it be your
Oranges or reds,
Or your greens and blues.

I love you,
And all that you are,
And all that you do.
Whether it be a smile so wide,
Or iris's splashed with gold,
Within a pool of blue.

You never knew, Love;
You never knew did you?
The heart that waited and wanted
Fastened to you, hoping for his chance
That chance you never gave me, Love.
Why?

Your fragile heart collects the dust
After years of misuse and abuse
From all the ones who squandered you
While all the while I was there
Clawing at the door to your heart.
Why?

Do you know tonight, this night, Love?
Tonight, this night is the night love dies;
Oh the night that love finally died!
Because you were too scared to see
That my heart has always been yours.
Why?

**Because you
               Were always
                                  The One