The Autumn SonnetsIf I can let you go as trees let go
Their leaves, so casually, one by one,
If I can come to know what they do know
That fall is the release, the consummation,
Then fear of time and the uncertain fruit
Would not distemper the great lucid skies
This strangest autumn, mellow and acute.
If I can take the dark with open eyes
And call it seasonal, not harsh or strange
(For love itself may need a time of sleep),
And treelike, stand unmoved before the change,
Lose what I lose to keep what I can keep,
The strong root still alive under the snow,
Love will endure - - if I can let you go. -May Sarton
This poem can apply to many things: relationships, children, situations, etc. It is almost always in 'letting go' that the deeper and more authentic love is allowed to show it's true face.
"The Autumn Sonnets" is just another cool poem in my collection of "favorites." One reason I like it is because of the variety of ways it could be meaningful to someone. The need to 'let go' is pretty universal albeit in different forms. I also think May Sarton was a talented poet, kind of a forerunner to Mary Oliver, and she probably never got the recognition for her writing that she deserved.
