by Kavya Sridhar
Autumn carries a bit of my soul within her
From the lazy way she flicks her hand
To create biting winds
Some cruel,
Some soft
From the delicate way in which she kisses the Earth
To change the perception of nature’s Flora
All warm colors
And dried up bark
Raining leaves drifting overhead
From the way she instills comfort
To the little girl with the raincoat,
Catching drops on her tongue
Or the old man in a vest,
Holding her hand through it all
Autumn passes through
With an air of finality
An interlude between cold and heat
A bitter solitude of perfect stillness
And that is why I say
Autumn carries a bit of my soul within her
Not too much, not too little
For even when people crave extremes
While people yearn for the most they can get
I am content with the simplicity of it all
The glorious in between area where all creatures start off
And where they all inevitably face their demise
Humans want the sun, the tangible feel of pure heat on their fingertips
Or the blessed frost, the moon shining down fiercely on haloed heads
They covet the highest levels of devotion
To be burnt or frozen to death in the name of another
Pure passion coursing through them regardless of the pain they feel throughout
I, on the other hand, am content with the promise of Fall
A promise of safety and security
That no other season provides
Autumn passed through
And took a bit of my soul with her