Autumn Leaves

Spring;
And life has just begun,
Glowing green shoots drunk on their potential
To be, to live, to grow.
Two boys revel in their spring,
Lost in dreams and wondrous wanderings where
Power is a draught to be sipped
Only by those who can seize it…
(three locks to the chest; three steps
to might and corruption)
…Heady fumes of brilliance, the very
Quintessence of their quiddity:
“For the Greater Good”.
Spring; and life is for the alive.

Summer;
And life is slowly maturing,
Finding its roots, finding deeper understanding
In time, in the season’s change.
For one man comes summer rain,
Heavy and bringing with it severed separation,
And shuddering grief. But also –
Endurance, acceptance, humility.
(some grow best alone, without guidance;
others twist out of shape)
Whispers of a tall, strong monster,
Outside the sheltered valley, atrocities:
“For the Greater Good”.
Summer; and life cannot last.

Autumn;
And life holds its breath,
Withering, cringing away from the sunlight as
Stormclouds gather, vulture-like,
Everything depends on this…
These two great men who dart in a deadly dance
Til the lightning strikes – flash of sun,
And the duel is over – a tree-trunk topples
(the other weeps glass tears, for what
could have been and never was)
Rage-coloured leaves fall, settle,
They had to be spilled, he cries,
For the greater good.
Autumn; and life is harsh.

Winter…
And the autumn leaves
Will never fade for him.