The Last Leaf

A final breath of wind...

That was her, the last leaf, clinging desperately to life
though her colour grey, pallid,
and not the vibrant pastel hues of autumnal death
that are seen as beautiful by those that care to look.
Alas though this not the case for mankind,
with autumn, winter, often merging slowly, painfully, colourlessly,
until with selfish frustration a freeing wind prayed for.

Her wind, her release to pain free peace
came unexpectedly, without fuss or fanfare.
It was not angry or tempestuous,
no, it was barely more than a breeze
that escaped through dry, chapped lips,
shushing the tears of those gathered around
as she slipped silently away into eternal sleep
where hopefully, angels wash and tend to her soul
and all dreams are only of us that truly loved her.

Reviews

[Pete]

the immutable cycle of life. death comes to us all. we are each ordained one birth and one death. certainly a mixed blessing, especially when continued suffering comes to an end. we are each that leaf - clinging desperately to life but alas, the end inevitably comes. my muse mr. thoreau wrote:

"We are ever dying to one world and being born into another. Even trees do not die without a groan. Death is beautiful when seen to be a law, and not an accident. It is as common as life."

great read for me - felt myself flapping in that breeze, twisting and turning between this world and the next. excellent personification ... :)

[Gee]

Thanks Pete, chuffed you approve :)

[Pete]

my pleasure (just learned a new word too!) ... :)

[Gee]

Well there ya go, everyday is a school day for us all :)

[Patricia Wedel]

A lovely farewell... reminds me of when my Mother passed... me on a Cot holding her hand and Dad on the other side all night holding her hand. We felt her spirit leave her body.. free of pain where angels wash and bathe her soul. Lovely Gee... thank you for sharing. gently, Pat

[Gee]

That is a beautiful way to leave this world.
Thank you Patricia

[¿]

A feeling which no matter how precisely a dying person expresses, we can't feel until we're in their shoes.
I wish to die same in a warm bed, peacefully rather than crippling in a hospital's bed full of medicinal smell.
I pray for your Mum's peace in paradise, ameen🌸

[Gee]

Thank you for your kind words Tahsin

[¿]

You are welcome😇

[Rania M]

She had a beautiful passing. Gentle and peaceful. As nature melts into nature, completing the cycle of love, with little resistance and with flowing grace. And when we think of heaven, we think of her. This is so awesome.

[Gee]

Good morning Rania, thank you.

[Rania M]

Have a lovely day :)

[Einstein Noodle]

:( beautifully said Gee! a peaceful death with family close is a prize of great worth ... not all of us will go out that way ... this feels personal sir ... i was with both my parents when they passed and both let go in that hushed peace ...there are angels that will come to show us the way if we have figured things out sufficiently ... we can't earn it ... we have to accept it willingly says i! if this is your Ma you are writing about .. God bless you in that loss ... great love/great loss :(
E.

[Gee]

Hi E, yes about mum who died on April 9th 2019.
Thank you for your kind words, always appreciate your visits.
Cheers

[Einstein Noodle]

oh man! coming up on one year :((( funny how our clocks mark spots that have no need of time keeping ... love on ya brother!

[emmajoy]

' .. hopefully, angels wash and tend to her soul - and all dreams are only of us that truly loved her. '

Beautiful sadness. from your heart.

Every thought of your darling mother paints a touch o f colour on that last leaf, Gee.

[Gee]

Thank you EmmaJ. Always seems that whatever I right never truly does justice to the lady that was/ is mum :)
Hope all is well in your neck of the woods.

[emmajoy]

Gee, every time you write a thought, you do justice to that darling lady. Every time you think of her, is same and more. Real Love is whenever and what it is, always understood by giver and receiver. OK?

[Gee]

Indeed okay. Thank you :)

[emmajoy]

Wishing you and your darlings sweet calm. Take care, Gee.

[emmajoy]

Time hangs about when we feel so deeply. I know, Gee, truly. So hope the sun's shining where you are, that its brightness might just nudge a smile.
Warm regards to you and your darlings over the long weekend.. keep safe

[jacob erin-cilberto]

beautiful memorial to your mom...
my mom was another leaf on that same true, and passed in much the same fashion....
without pain at the end, she had enough morphine to keep that away, and then she just stopped breathing.
your poem touches anyone who has gone through this.
j.

[Gee]

Good morning Jacob, thank you. Cannot believe it is almost a year already that mum passed away.
read moreGood morning Jacob, thank you. Cannot believe it is almost a year already that mum passed away.
Hope you are well.

[John the Baptist]

This is a very moving meditation on the passing of one beloved. The subject appears to have been an older female, perhaps a mother or a wife, for I think the mention of autumn is a reference to the person's age rather than a season. I get the feeling the final leave-taking was difficult, not beautiful like the autumn of the artists. This person was deeply loved, and there seems to be a sense of relief that the painful struggle is done and that she is in an elevated space now. May it be so.

[Gee]

Hi John, thank you for a very insightful and correct review.

[John the Baptist]

PS: any relation to John Maynard?

[Gee]

Hi John, no. I'm now off to Google him

[Carolynn]

This is beautifully written though grieving the loss of your loved one - it sounds like she passed very peacefully which is what we all hope for I think...sorry for your loss

[Gee]

Thank you Carolynn. Mum will be gone 1 year on the 9th April.

[barleygirl]

I'm sorry you're missing your mom . . . this poem feels like a tiny branching out from your recent poems of personal grief . . . now putting your feelings on a larger stage, comparing your autumn passing with the passing of autumn. I love how you differentiate between nature being colorful about autumn, whereas human autumn is usually in shades of gray. Despite starting with this distinction, your poem seems to show us an evermore colorful (poignant) way of considering human death (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[Gee]

Thanks for your kind words Margie. Can't believe on the 9th April it will be one year since mum toodled off to get some peace.

[barleygirl]

It is hard to believe it's been that long! Take care! Those anniversaries can be brutal! (((HUGS)))