A smile shivers onto my lips
as Autumn eases its cool breath upon me,
as leaves glow amber,
slipping into a stupor,
to tell the harsh heat to slow.

Sadness loses its bitter aftertase
and sinks sweetly into my throat,
a heartbeat within a heartbeat,
like the pirouetting, droplet-drained leaves
lost to the music of the wind
before a fleeting finale on the crisp earth;
the temperature difference
between myself and the sky
drops
and there is no longer a hurricane inside me.