Before You Know It

By: Kyle Elden

Before you know it
the blossoms have fallen
the field is empty
daylight more sparse
the autumn leaves
tenderly, passionately aflame
brightly yellow, orange
sultry red with longing for life
yet, in their time letting go
so beautifully, so gracefully
resting sweetly against the earth,
taken in like a long awaited lover

Before you know it
the water in the tea kettle
has turned cold
the bread on the counter
is laced with mold
the birds have flown south
for the winter, again
and the touch of your lips on my skin
your breath softly on my face
the shadows of that moment
our bodies, moving in waves
against the wall, the flickering
light from a candle, the violin,
and base, & drums all weaving
an exquisite experience
that is now a shuddering memory
captured in our hearts, caught
like a flopping fish in a net

Before you know it
there are gray hairs and wrinkles
the children are grown
grandpa has died but his smell remains
on his pillow, on his flannel shirt and baseball cap
where you bury your tear streaked face
to remember
and grief settles in like a blizzard
locking you away in your house
for a time

Before you know it
you smile again
find yourself humming,
singing out loud when alone
a prayer of gratitude spilling from
your lips as you catch the sunrise
spreading light across the morning
soaking the sky with the deepest pink
imaginable
and you know there are a million
ways to hide from your heart
a thousand reasons to be sad or scared
but even more, even more reasons to be
fully alive
to move forward
as the hawks are called forth
to migrate, over and over again,
to wherever there is more bounty