INTIMATIONS OF A DEEP AUTUMN

Here in the quiet

& calm of a tremulous-afternoon. 

I have the acute sensation of pain, glass

Hallways, layering in a moment that dips beneath

The luminous surface, seeming almost

To respond to the presence pooled in those deep autumn

Reds, the lake mirrored in a moment’s breath

As silence, sense bursts from its fetters, a moment

Nearly running to catch up.  & once more I see

Her face, its faint translucence skimming from a place

Of absolute-truth, a pulse I’ve known that exists

In the creak of a stair, or a motion

Bleeding into stillness.  She drew a map

Encapsulating each luminary channel, each striation of her

Life, & those moments, as if remembered

For the first time, experiences she was yet to become  

Cognizant of until memory evoked the presence

Of some faint-illumination.  The days cooler

Now, the leaves turning the color of dried

Blood.  Here in the quiet & calm of a tremulous afternoon. 

I search for gateways, & those membranes

Of light, flaking away in a dream that’s

Not yet over.