Like the very first autumn breeze
warm from the embrace of summer's last kiss
blowing through my heartstrings
breathing melodies like chimes
you came,
effortlessly.

Like lively green autumn leaves relaxing
into yellows and oranges and browns
drifting along the wind far from the safety of their branched fortresses
like a traveler's relief from the humdrum harmony of routine
you found me,
effortlessly.

Like thanksgiving,
We gathered at tables
To celebrate our miracles: each other
cooked by time, our love a golden brown
we stayed together,
effortlessly.

Like the first glaze of snow upon a sea of crisp grass
and the last autumn sigh of a frozen exhalation
a fleeting remnant of what once was but never could be
rising, first, then dark again
is just how you left me,
Effortlessly.

But Winter would not come so easily for this last wrinkled leaf.