Ode to the Yellow Maple in Autumn
I see you there with your smells; gold and tawny
Your branches would uplift me, and your light filtered through me-
Your laughter filled me up to the tips of my skin-
Your visits a mixture of long and brief;
I held to your friendship and clung to your bark; wisdom; and life;
Generations would visit you and take in what you gave them; earth and freedom-
Lessons about kindness and gentleness were shared from under your leaf;
Nature spoke to us and life traveled around us-
Today you turn gold past the years into a gray;
We mourn, but celebrate the gold you gave.