Fall’s Surrender and Other Poems
by Hayley Rawnsley
FALL’S SURRENDER
We enter the wild regions
where our trails of chaos end
and silence swallows up
the city’s symphony
as we stand
beneath the verdant canopy
and breathe
the pines that purify
muddy ground.
We fuse with the foliage
drinking in its vibrant hues
of treetops kissed by light,
awakening the ache
to be pierced
by Love’s thread, which mends
our weathered tapestries
fragmented by fear
as lost and found collide.
We wander in a rage,
slicing the sky with our screams
and trampling the leaves
that fall in surrender
to the death
that makes good soil
from false layers we shed
to reveal
raw and precious hearts.
We mourn the lives we lose
and marvel at the selves renewed
in the wilderness.
LOVE IN THE EMBERS
Shivering and drained,
I sit and watch
the rich pigments of dusk
bleed out, and sparks
scatter when you breathe
life into those flames
that dance
golden rays across our faces
dripping sweet warmth,
like honey down my chin,
and I’m scared to wipe it off
in case Love evaporates
by morning, so I’ll stay
while the embers
melt me to sleep
and kindle this glow
to the end of days.
WOODLAND CATHEDRAL
There’s a forest that envelops me,
a perennial shelter where I go
when worn down
by this life that is wilderness
I wander with the aimless
compass of my soul,
finding rest in its cathedral
of trees spiring to the heavens
staking ground. I wait
for silent footsteps and the scent
of peace like autumn air
that burns my lungs awake
rewilding for adventure
and lean against the stillness
as I return
to the tentpole of my faith.
Closing my eyes
to feel the ground,
I know that even now,
I’m home.
HAYLEY RAWNSLEY
Hayley Rawnsley is an artist and writer in Los Angeles. She's passionate about helping people connect with God through creativity. Her work can be found on desertsblooming.com and Instagram @desertsblooming, where she shares art and stories inspired by the hidden beauty of the spiritual wilderness.