An autumn leaf, once so green and so full
Fallen, dried, trampled in broken pieces.
A blade of grass, green, slender and alone,
Uprooted, lifelessly floating away.
A flower, once bright and full of nectar,
Wilting, pale, petals heavy on the stem.
A ravaged elm, as tall as it once was,
But hollow, gray, refuge for emptiness.
A shell, home to life, spit out by the sea,
Cracking underfoot, dead, a mere object.
Me, strong in spirit, alive and grateful,
More dead than those things, if not for your love.