Winter Sunset

Red, falling leaves,
mixed with orange, yellow, and brown,
gather on the cool ground
around this aged park bench
where I sit reflecting on my life.
I stroll down the Path of Yesterday
as the Wind of Time, with brisk motion,
whirls the leaves and settles them
in a pile at my feet.
Suddenly I feel a kinship
to their desolate fate
of ashes in the earth.

But upon careful retrospection,
I find the qualms are few,
because once in a vibrant, active life,
I blazed greener trails
when the winged challenges of youth
soared in a timeless breeze.

Now, in autumn's warning hour,
bare of long-term aspirations,
I am content to separate
from the earthly tree of life,
to glide toward a winter sunset,
envisioning an Eternal Sunrise.

Copyright © 1994 Ruth Gillis

First published in the Fall 1994 issue of Poetic Eloquence