It was the dawn of November; the apex of autumn when winter whispered its arrival through the sharp, subtle whirls of wind that cut my face. It was just after the sun’s peak and the warmth of the rays surrounded me. There I sat, with my back leaned against the brick pillar supporting the overhead arch that hid me from the blinding beams that struck the short grass. I gazed at the unique angle of every branch of every tree with the pleasing points of warm sunlight and cool shade varying the colors further than just red, orange and yellow. Leaving my eyes completely naked to the nearly leafless trees that swayed their branches to the beat of the breeze. 

My ears froze and felt broken, but continued to gather the melody. My left ear focused on the faint flow of the river beneath the trees and the crumpling of fallen leaves by the small squirrels whom scurried away from my sight. My right ear focused on the empty garden bathed in the burning sunlight and the complex conversations about lives I will never know in the distance by the street. The sounds from each side created a symphony that played like music in my mind.

As I shut my heavy eyelids and inhaled deeply, the crisp, cold, and clean air slowly filled my lungs with knowledge, circulating throughout my body freeing each individual cell. The trees, the leaves and the breeze alleviated my warm worries. As I opened my light eyelids and exhaled deeply, the harsh breath oozed out of my nostrils and left me filled with the delicacy of freedom.

There I leaned, beneath the trees as nothing more than just one being amidst many more. Beings of all colors: grapelike plums, reds deeper than sin, tangerine oranges and lime like greens frolicking and falling off their burnt umber branches. Everything was connected, leaves on trees rooted in the ground filled with grass. I was no longer alone, my company was awaiting me. I walked up the burgundy brick road towards the center of the warm grass blanket and laid upon the bed of sunlight. Eyes closed and arms open to the crowd that danced high above me as my mind replayed the hymn.