Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming-- Wow, what a ride!
--anonymousAUTUMN, AND THEN...

It’s not gravity exactly
but something much like...
something as natural as breathing,
or at the end not breathing...
Everything wrinkles,
dries, drops, dies.

Old age happens
if life goes on long enough...
It drains away sap and firmness
even from the strongest leaf...
Shadows lengthen.
Dust accumulates.

No antidote for death
of greenest leaf or tree or me...
So look around when summer ends
and celebrate cool autumn.
No time for regret.
Winter is beautiful.