Fading Requiem

Leaves fall like thin fire
Paper coins and parchment hands
Lodging in the straps of sandles
My scarf flaps beneath my eyes
The wind below my ears
Dead birds nestled
Beneath parked cars
Hurrying feet
Necks crooked in the child
Forgets the footsteps of laughter
Flicker out
Glass jars shatter fireflies
Tumble into the reeds
Smiling down a river trickle
Before the darkness flattens
But you still walk in sandals