October Leaves Poem by Richard Lackman

As I look out upon October leaves
And brown grass weathered by the Autumn sun
I see the shafts of light a bare branch cleaves
And so much of creation now undone

I feel the sorrow of a world defeated
And wonder if my life reflects the same
Cycle of life's consciousness depleted
Like a picture that has fallen from its frame

I bare my heart to painful introspection
Regarding simple pleasures never found
Like finding images of one's reflection
In a fleeting pool of water ever bound

Where now are all the promises of Spring
That light and warmth and flowers would repair
What now do winter wind and shadows bring
But dower images and dark despair

And yet as I recall from years gone by
That following the darkness and the cold
If I can my own darker moods defy
Will then the flowers of spring at last unfold

And so it goes and so my life repeats
The cycles of the seasons in my mind
And so my memory at last deletes
The darker side of life I often find