Mystery and Awe

The fall colors splash reds, oranges, and yellows with wild bold strokes across the maples and oaks. The beauty catches in my throat, and I have to drink it in to get my breath back. This moment brushes against the inexplicable and the unknown. A botanist would tell me that the chlorophyll is dying, and the other colors of the leaf are showing through. Frost, sugars in the leaf, drought all play a part in the leaf's palette, too. But all I can do is stand and look, in awe, thinking about this mysterious life and death playing out in front of me. The universe (multiverses?) gives me this special gift to ponder and appreciate, and I don't need an explanation, I only need this moment.