Rod McKuen the greatest poet of our time

(source of photo unknown)

AUTUMN AS IT IS (Rod McKuen Official site)

Autumn as a season
and autumn in a life
are different
than I first expected.
The first, an abstract;
the second, a subtract.

The leaves turn crimson,
the hair turns white.
The leaves fall down,
as do testicles and
the firmest breast.

The dream goes on
for trees and man.
The difference is
the tree survives
the harshest winter,
but man may get
a simple cough
and raw will be
the days that follow.

It is as it is. It was as it was.
Nothing changes
but the scenes and seasons.
Worry not. It is only life
and that is all we have.
It often isn’t much
but nearly always quite enough.

-from A Safe Place to Land, 2002