Mikhail Bennett — When November Comes

When November comes,
the rain knows every window.
Leaves gather by the doorway like old friends coming home.
I pull your chair beside the fire,
though you're not sitting there.
Funny how a room remembers someone who's no longer here.
When November comes,
I feel the years somehow. The children have their own lives,
and I'm the old man now.
But I still thank God for every chair
that once surrounded me.