Hues of orange and gold layer the floor beneath me,

Members of the multitude of pastel trees,

Floating ever so slowly down upon me,

Dancing freely in the scented breeze.

An everchanging kaleidoscope of color engulfs my eyes,

My face kissed by sun-warmed air,

A cloudless blue Heaven smiles upon me,

The fingers of Fall through my hair.

I stand, solitaire, inhaling nature’s gifts,

Absorbing a tranquility a lifetime sought,

Trickling water and the songs of birds fill the near distance,

The freedom that couldn’t be taught.

No longer am I a stranger to myself,

My tormented mind breathes anew,

Strengthened by my paradise,

For in it is where I grew.