Falling Leaves

Amidst the falling leaves

I find myself

caught inside autumn's breeze

light as a feather

weightless and f r e e—

somewhere in limbo

between where I have grown

and where weather's flown me

during that brief window of time

I lost my breath; prodded, pondered death

and when I cease to be

Is it when I'm estranged

from Elm's entangled arms, is it when

my chlorophyll charms become engulfed

in flame, is it when I can no longer

trace my veins back home

to times cherished evergreen,

— or is it, at the crisp of decomposition

as I'm crackling with my kin under steadfast steps

steps who don't stop to name and mourn the fall

amidst the falling leaves

I find myself

worn and reborn, like an ouroboros

breathing and being beyond skin

nowhere and everywhere

I find myself

carried into winter

by the gentle wind