The Autumn Tree
The autumn tree burns with a fiery red
as if remembering all the late summer nights
when the weather was too hot
and it was too green to go to bed early.
But now in the midst of fall
with winter rapidly approaching
the tree shows us its many colors
as if revealing the knowledge gained in seasons past.
The reds, the yellows, the browns
and all shades in between
show us that there isn't much
this seemingly naive tree has missed.
Then one by one
leaf by leaf
it gradually lets go of the fragments of yesterday
with a dignity and grace not unlike God Himself.
The leaves blow in the wind
to tell our ears what our eyes may have missed:
Change is beautiful!
When the last leaf has gone its way
the tree stands empty -
not the emptiness of ignorance
but rather the emptiness of having led
a full and complete life.
In that emptiness,
the Universe will begin again
as spring offers a new leaf
to a baby blue sky.
John Ostlund index