Chanson d'automne

When a sighing begins

In the violins

Of the autumn-song,

My heart is drowned

In the slow sound

Languorous and long

Pale as with pain,

Breath fails me when

The hours toll deep.

My thoughts recover

The days that are over,

And I weep.

And I go

Where the winds know,

Broken and brief,

To and fro,

As the winds blow

A dead leaf.

"Chanson de'automne" ("Autumn Song") is by the french poet, Paul Verlaine.  I was reminded of it this week as I was driving through the Hudson Valley & stumbled upon an old cemetery that was covered in fall leaves.  As I was photographing the stunning colors & textures, I thought about how fall is the season of death and that this dying must occur to make room for new growth.  This "death" often represents what we must let go of that no longer serves us in our spiritual, creative or material worlds - remembering that with "goodbye" comes a "hello" to something else.  

The French version of Chanson d'automne is my favorite: