Ode to Fall

What is it about an October Maple ?
Competing against the crisp fall sky
It stands tall and confident and glorious

It knows it will soon lose all its leaves
And yet it happily sheds the lazy green of summer
To reveal a deeper, more striking color.....
Its inner core that has always been there
A warning of the upcoming winter
The October maple should fill our hearts with dread and sadness
And yet we bow to it in awe and wonder

What is it about the October Maple ?
We see it shed its youth and playfulness
And emerge as a mature and seasoned adult
Ready to step into the cold and dark of winter
And yet it makes us happy ?

Is it the knowledge of a battle won ?
Is it the knowledge of a life lived to the fullest ?
Is it optimism, hope or simple faith
that the leaves will return again
And the tree will be stronger
and even more beautiful in the spring ?

Its all that and more, she said. 
It comes from knowing its purpose  
and its role in Mother Nature's world.