Fog settles on the valley
as bright autumn fades,
leaves turn and fall
in the time of letting go.
I sit warm by the fire,
at peace in the change
like an old monk
preferring the calm,
the descent into root.
The world calls this empty,
the slow slip into darkness,
yet here in the quiet morning
soft light etches the fog
and the well of life flows full
behind the gate of silence.