Listen
Autumn is the whisper
as leaves change color and fall to the ground
as time seems to slow down; we all do
but winter is the shriek, burning our ears and our skin
it chases us inside, covering the world in gloom
we sit inside, helpless and staring outward as the darkness closes in,
only to emerge into the world after the birds have returned,
singing their song
because spring is a serenade that warms our hearts and our homes
it invites us back outside, caressing where winter was bitter and tormenting
spring is color and life renewed
but summer, summer is the sound of laughter and love
children in the field and lovers at the beach and teenagers in the park
— long after the sun has set and curfew has passed
summer is the spray of water and the smell of the sun,
the last remnants of youth before autumn whispers it all away