Autumn’s Last Regret
written by: Anna Bivens
exhale the deep-down embers of your breath
to fuel and fan my ebbing whoosh and flicker
these thin-walled guts and grimace crave the richness of your touch
the joy short-lived as daylight shares her prophecy
your branches bare—black lace against an ever-darkening sky
climb me down your ego-humbling-tree
with muscle-armed sienna bark still panting soft regrets
dear muse gone mum you’ve bled my veins of wishes
trimmed mind-spent layers from imagine’s orb
place my heart-shards at your feet to rest as umber earth
amidst your mindful flock of frost-stunned sycophants
as shocked and wind-ripped red they feint and sputter words
of ill-timed praise and barren wish-you-well’s
quaint offerings sprung from brittle memory
bow you down with rough hands numb
stiff branches sounding depths that prime
your entrance well remembered sweet intruder
watch my bright wings spread their final flutter’s dream
aloft in fire where head and heart bespoke the flames
as wayward notes that danced across the sky
sing bold a dirge to welcome hours of shedding skin
provoke the strip-tease scars of ancient wounds
mourn as one the sight-loss of our fiery colors
brightest in the hearth of Autumn’s last regret
lay me down at dusk with grateful heart to sky
and bless the liquid shadows of this ever-straining day
- Autumn’s Last Regret - May 1, 2024
- No Mercy - April 28, 2023
- In Dreams - January 30, 2023
