The acidic taste in my mouth is coupled with the stark whiteness of the clouds outside
They keep watch over me, silent ships
Floating aimlessly in a clear blue sea
The trees sway their branches in greeting, as if trying to beckon the clouds down
The clouds ignore them, and continue their journey
Moving past the sun
While the trees still shiver
Ever so slightly
Tickled by the teasing wind
Out in the distance, ranks upon ranks of them
Ages old, spreading their arms to the sky
It was a labor of love
They nurtured themselves
Their leaves sprung forth
And left them come autumn
And now, in winter time the leaves are gone
Scattered husks carpeting the earth
Some still clinging on to fragile branches, dead before they hit the ground
They're fallen and shrunken
Fragile husks of what once was green and bright and fragrant
And sometimes the trees envy the pine
Who keeps his greenery far into winter
But his harsh needles cannot compete with the fresh greenness of a leaf in spring
And in autumn the trees light themselves on fire, phoenix-like
Their flames of colored leaves consume them and slowly far away
And they are left bare until they rise from the ashes once more
And bring forth new life
And while the trees stand and shake and shiver
And lose their leaves and grow them again
And season after season grow bigger
And lose their branches and fall back to the Earth
And decompose and slowly fade until they're nothing more than then rotten wood
I
Sit by the window
And watch the clouds
Sail their way across the sky