please, stay some more

and the new day saw the low gray clouds

hanging their heads in grief

for that one last breath and the falling

of a golden leaf,

without a sound,

all the way from the highest branch to the cold, hard ground:

there was disbelief

that a clever thief

could steal such a precious life,

without warning or a threatening knife.

and the reason for the end

was elusive and harder to comprehend,

when eyes once bright with a curious spark

could be so suddenly dimmed in the whispering dark.

tears fall, and implore

the memory walking in and out the door

please, stay some more,

pull up an easy chair

for our long, slow talk

before our long, slow walk.

we'll laugh and linger;

see three red fox and point a finger

at a swift hummingbird,

appreciating moments without saying any extra word,

and when your Lord says it's time to dine,

it will also be your time to shine.