Summer's End

The sun's pale orange gaze blankets the sky,
the patio is confused, half lit with the sun's flame
and half into the darkness of the shadows. But I perch
in the middle of the grass, hands folded in my lap,
waiting and breathing, heart slowly beating as my lungs
breathe deep and slow. I am only human, as the breeze
lips by my hair, kissing my soft lips. The air smells
of coming fall, the leaves fighting against the coming
autumn. My steady heartbeat reminds me that I survived
a summer torn apart like the waves in the pool
as they lap the surface. No matter what, I had loved him,
but I now understood that it had to happen, the sun
had to set, night had to come, the stars have to take over
the midnight black. I lift my head because as everyone
knows, morning will come and I will still be smiling.