Autumn is set to music

Honestly, I can’t remember
the last time I felt like this

it’s the sound of fallen leaves
brittle, decaying guitars
with chords that sing
in red and orange
the last desperate expression of color
before the snow falls

it’s in each breeze that shakes free
unread poems and unsent letters
from loose-leaf trees
and the wind through
their shadow-puppet branches
harmonizes with the song in my ears
and they wave in time
with my changing colors

let’s both dance to the tune of
our own tangible nostalgia
surrounded by fading sunsets
sinking into horizon sooner each night
wrapped up in the leftover
summer-green melancholy

I don’t know how much longer it’ll last
maybe another week or two
or just a few days
before the grass is frosted gray
and we fall out of sync

for now, the ground is cluttered with natural debris
my mind is scattered with superfluous memories
remnants and reminders caught in the wind
to be scooped up by the handful
before they’re forgotten

for now, let’s go through the motions,
reenact our shared deja vu
and wade into fiery trees.