Falling

The summer has overstayed,

a too-drunk friend

lingering when the party

has long since peaked.

Withered dirt-drab leaves,

too weary to wait for autumn to arrive,

impatiently pluck themselves from their roosts

to decompose in gutter drains.

How can I express

that you feel like the season's change;

that those bottomless brown eyes

pair perfectly with

the ocher and rust red of deep autumn,

that I shiver every time we touch,

that you are the first breath of fresh,

brisk air that sweeps away

the sweltering Midwest humidity,

giving me goosebumps. 

How can I stay reticent

when the alcohol hits and

my heart overflows with everything about you,

and I want to tell you that I love you,

but not in a way that scares us both away --

in a comfortable way,

as a friend I can't wait to see again

and as a human being that brings me

an absurd amount of happiness,

without any expectations,

because you are already

every single thing you need to be.

You say I look like I'm about to cry,

but that's just affection for you

not fitting in this caved-in chest.

You are cuddle weather,

you are a sweater I can't wait

to put on again.

You are a nap in the sun

under the softest blanket.

You are autumn.

Reviews

[redd Brick Keshner]

That is such a powerful expression. And the reverse prosopopoeia toward the last stanza is just awesome to read!