AUTUMN STILL HOLDS MY LOVE

The sun hangs low – a wounded orange eye.

Leaves burn red and gold before they die.

October wears her brightest dress today,

But every color knows it cannot stay.

The wind is cold, it pulls me by the sleeve,

And whispers things I’m too old to believe.

But it’s not fear I feel when branches snap,

Not sadness when the rain becomes a trap.

Somewhere behind the ribs, a quiet flame –

You left it there. I never learned your name.

Let the rain fall, let the windows weep,

Let the autumn bury what I couldn't keep.

There's a fire in my chest that the wind can't touch,

I’m still standing, and I love too much.

The sky is bruised – a purple, aching blue.

I walk alone, but I’m not missing you.

I miss the way the world felt soft and strange,

Before the years began to rearrange.

The wet leaves stick to pavements like a scar.

The whiskey warms me better than a star.

And every drop of rain that hits my skin

Reminds me that I’m still alive within.

This is not a sad song.

This is a song about the thing that stays

When everything else falls away.

Let the rain fall, let the windows weep,

Let the autumn bury what I couldn't keep.

There's a fire in my chest that the wind can't touch,

I’m still standing, and I love too much.

The sun goes down... the colors bleed...

The rain knows every name I didn't speak...

But love... stays in the bone...

I’m not alone.