Ascendance: a Poem to Lift Your Spirits

Sometimes poetry is able to capture our sentiments better than long explanations. I hope this poem reaches you in this way.

Ascendance

I saw the autumn leaves

slowly falling down,

until a gust of faithful wind

saved one from the ground.

Had the leaf had a mind

I’d wager it was thinking,

“I’ll soon be there with all the rest

should I continue sinking.”

But as his branch lived life was

coming to an end,

a caring breeze, the breath of life

made the leaf ascend.

It lifted that leaf higher and higher,

higher than before,

and upon that breeze

life’s breath whispered,

“You’ve known life abundantly,

now dare to know it more.”

“Life on the branch was good” said the leaf,

“I thought I had it made.

But I’d never know this glorious flight

if on the branch I’d stayed.”

Never lose heart and never lose faith,

even when falling down.

The times when heart and faith count most,

are those spent near the ground.

We the Leaves

Maybe you have days when you feel like the leaf. I know I do. I hope your breeze comes and carries you to lofty heights.

Artwork by Sandra Koenders

Sandra is a wonderful artist with whom I have worked over the last three years. She often doodles, leaving beautiful renderings of flowers, trees, and as you see here, leaves.

© 2018 Leland Johnson