Glory

by Cheryl Merrick

A blaze of yellow against a deep blue sky,
Full of hope, beauty, and life,
I long for this moment to remain. 
I don’t want the bleak, bare world of November.
Within me I cry - Stay!
But then I remember that 
the leaves must fall.

Though the trees look dead, they are not.
This is as it must be.
For in the losing of old leaves, they preserve life,
to burst forth next spring in new green.

When I long for friends and family 
to remain always with me,
I must remind myself
that they too must die
in preparation for their glorious spring. 

Grateful I will always be to Him 
who encourages us with the hopeful glow of our fall,
and comforts us in the long, cold days of our winter.
Grateful I will always be to Him,
the giver of spring, 
who has made possible our glorious new life.