October Tides

The days crawl in and the years crawl out
Spreading an infection of contentment and doubt
Then in times of unrest, October drops in
To check up on the person you’ve become and see how you’ve been
A time when inanimate objects are methodically given a face
Fears are no longer concealed, but eagerly embraced
Dead leaves dance about with the scutter of insects
The air is alive with the burnt color of sunsets.
For a time, the heart commits mutiny and the brain gets locked in the hull.
A child awakens for the voyage and fears not the cold
For a few good weeks, reality is held at bay
Forced back by flood gates that could burst any day
Forget not, forget not, the person you once were
For the season will soon change and the tide will soon turn
From six feet under, to the top of your soul
In this one month a year, you will never grow old
You can still hear the laughter from a childhood lost
Even if the receptacle has been cleverly concealed by moss
Concentrate now, on that last dying flicker of flame
Don’t you dare let it go out, for you will never be the same
Take your hands, shield it, protect it from the wind
Breath life back into it with memories of forgotten whim
For in the months ahead, frost will creep into your bones
The child inside will be abandoned and left to fend on its own
So heed my warning and gleefully take my hand
Stay with me here forever in this most precious of lands
We shall never age a day or feel a sense of doubt
Isn’t that really what life is all about?