autumn sonnets

If I can let you go as trees let go

Sonnet 2 — She wants to learn to let go of love the way trees drop their leaves — naturally and peacefully.

Their leaves, so casually, one by one;

Sonnet 2 — Trees lose leaves without effort or pain, showing how release can be gentle and gradual.

If I can come to know what they do know,

Sonnet 2 — She hopes to gain nature’s wisdom — to accept change instead of fighting it.

That fall is the release, the consummation,

Sonnet 2 — Autumn (falling) means completion, not just loss — endings can be fulfilling.

Then fear of time and the uncertain fruit

Sonnet 2 — She wouldn’t be afraid of aging or of not knowing what love or life will bring.

Would not distemper the great lucid skies

Sonnet 2 — Her fear wouldn’t cloud her clear, calm understanding — her inner peace would remain.

This strangest autumn, mellow and acute.

Sonnet 2 — This season (and emotional stage) feels both gentle and sharp — peaceful but very aware.

If I can take the dark with open eyes

Sonnet 2 — She wants to face sadness or endings honestly, without denial or fear.

And call it seasonal, not harsh or strange

Sonnet 2 — She wants to see pain as part of life’s natural cycle, not something wrong or cruel.

(For love itself may need a time of sleep),

Sonnet 2 — Even love needs to rest or pause sometimes, like nature in winter.

And, treelike, stand unmoved before the change,

Sonnet 2 — She wants to stay strong and steady, like a tree that survives the seasons.

Lose what I lose to keep what I can keep,

Sonnet 2 — By letting go of what fades, she can hold on to what’s lasting and real.

The strong root still alive under the snow,

Sonnet 2 — Even in winter (loss), the roots — love’s core or strength — survive underground.

Love will endure—if I can let you go.

Sonnet 2 — The paradox: love lasts when she accepts separation. Letting go preserves love’s truth.

After a night of rain the brilliant screen

Sonnet 5 — After sadness, illusions fall away — rain represents emotional cleansing.

Below my terraced garden falls away.

Sonnet 5 — The view changes; she can finally see clearly again after the storm.

And there, far off, I see the hills again

Sonnet 5 — Her perspective returns; she can see the world (and herself) clearly.

On this, a raw and windy, somber day.

Sonnet 5 — The day is harsh but honest — reflects her new, stripped-down emotional state.

Moments of loss, and it is overwhelming

Sonnet 5 — She feels grief and emptiness now that the bright beauty is gone.

(Crimson and gold gone, that rich tapestry),

Sonnet 5 — The colors of autumn (and love’s passion) have faded — beauty has passed.

But a new vision, quiet and soul-calming,

Sonnet 5 — Even after loss, there’s peace — she finds a calmer, deeper kind of beauty.

Distance, design, are given back to me.

Sonnet 5 — Distance gives her perspective and order — she can see the “design” in life again.

This is good poverty, now love is lean,

Sonnet 5 — Losing excess emotion is good — her love is simpler and truer now.

More honest, harder than it ever was

Sonnet 5 — Love is more real and resilient without illusions.

When all was glamoured by a golden screen.

Sonnet 5 — In the past, passion made everything seem perfect — an illusion.

The hills are back, and silver on the grass,

Sonnet 5 — Reality returns, beautiful in a cooler, humbler way.

As I look without passion or despair

Sonnet 5 — She feels balanced — neither overwhelmed nor cold.

Out on a larger landscape, grand and bare.

Sonnet 5 — Life now feels wide and honest — stripped of fantasy, but full of clarity.

For steadfast flame wood must be seasoned,

Sonnet 11 — Lasting love must be prepared and tested, like seasoned firewood.

And if love can be trusted to last out,

Sonnet 11 — Real love must prove itself over time.

Then it must first be disciplined and reasoned

Sonnet 11 — Love needs self-control and thought, not just emotion.

To take all weathers, absences, and doubt.

Sonnet 11 — A strong relationship endures hardship and separation.

No resinous pine for this, but the hard oak

Sonnet 11 — Easy passion burns out; true love is solid and lasting, like oak.

Slow to catch fire, would see us through a year.

Sonnet 11 — Mature love starts slowly but lasts long.

We learned to temper words before we spoke,

Sonnet 11 — They’ve learned to be patient and thoughtful with each other.

To force the furies back, learn to forbear,

Sonnet 11 — They’ve learned to control anger and endure problems.

In silence to wait out erratic storm,

Sonnet 11 — They know sometimes love means waiting calmly through conflict.

And bury tumult when we were apart.

Sonnet 11 — They suppress emotional chaos during separation to protect their bond.

The fires were banked to keep a winter warm

Sonnet 11 — Love was quietly maintained, not destroyed, during hard times.

With heart of oak instead of resinous heart

Sonnet 11 — Their love is now strong, steady, not shallow or flashy.

And in this testing year beyond desire

Sonnet 11 — Time and hardship have moved love past mere passion.

Began to move toward durable fire.

Sonnet 11 — Love has matured into something enduring — warm, constant, and real.