When the Leaves Fall

Autumn is when the world gets cold.

As the days slide into darkness,

my mind falls back to that day.

.

The wind bit through my sweatshirt as I waited

for you to get out of class and meet me

on the sidewalk, where the cars slide by

just slow enough for passengers to disembark.

.

There was no sense of gravity in the air.

And if there was, I didn't sense it;

High school boys are not known for subtlety.

.

Marcus Aurelius said to be at peace with yourself

is to be at peace with the universe.

This is no less true today for me than it was for him,

when he was battling Germanic tribes and the plague.

.

But how can I be at peace with myself,

thinking back on that cold, November day?

I'll always be that 17 year old, nervously waiting for you.

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