Leaves from the rugged tree
Slip into the darkness.
Almost silently they settle
On the unsuspecting earth,
Touching her so lightly
She does not cringe nor flee.
The delicate gentleness
Of autumns good night kiss,
Whispers a sweet lullaby of
Safety ‘neath God’s endless gaze,
And the holy ageless promise,
Of a new birth and life,
In the warm gentle rain of spring.

Isn’t it odd that the things
Which touch us the lightest,
Barely perceptible to our senses,
Leave rugged canyons, rivers,
Majestic mountain peaks
And oceans so vast they have no shore
Upon our sad and very lonely souls.
A newborn’s grip of our little finger.
Warm rain, pure snow on our cheek.
The memory of bright laughter
With childhood’s dearest friend.
The starlight of your warm smile
Cross this dark empty universe between us.

Perhaps when my sleep is at last,
When my winter covers me
With a quilt of warm plush peace,
The last beat of my lonely heart
May become a racing bright beam
Of pure love’s white light
Piercing the infinite void between us,
Alighting on the soft delicate lips
That enclose your smile,
And without you knowing how,
Give birth to a feeling
That becomes a sweet soft song
To soothe a frightened child.

C.E. Marshall