
Hello, Autumn.
Bright lights fading fast,
blown hither and nigh.
Twisted tale, simple sail,
birth to end,
a diecast in the green.
Some mornings I lie in bed and can’t get up,
the window shades close and tight,
the sheets so cozy and warm,
the day ahead unclear,
a feeling it won’t go right,
my thoughts a doomy storm.
The world is a mess.
Bad people wander carelessly.
Dark shadows hide.
Tomorrow is a question mark.
The earth staggers.
Darkness looms.
But outside:
light rises,
rooster cries,
birds begin their songs.
I think of all the possible prizes
the day might bring–
wild hope
despite the leaves
and their simple silent sighs.
Downstairs I hear
coffee perking
lamp switch turning on
bright call of maybe
possibility of hope and gifts
footsteps upon moss paths
dog wags and sniffs
nose brushes with my son
dancing curls from my daughter
bear hugs from my husband
flour sifting through my fingers
wool socks on my feet
a fire crackling tonight
book pages to feel and turn
and tea with milk and honey.
I will wrap myself in warmth.
I will open my arms so wide.
I will walk fast but stop to listen.
I will open the pages and start again.
I will live,
broken but rebuilt,
like the trees around me:
made of threads of fiber and form and forgotten leaf skeletons
spiderwebs and grass leaves and tiny filaments of salt from the sea
fed from iron ore and molten sea below me
layers and layers of fossils fueling me
their life and death
my certainty.
For today is a hope that lives.
Today is a possibility that gives.
Today is a bell that rings,
ready for it all.
Bring it, Autumn.
I’m with you all season.
Let’s shed the illusions
and get down to the bones of it.
Rushing rivers turning sand,
hawks shrieking and reminding,
the blue heron clowning around in the trees.
We’re in this together,
you and I,
so let’s get out of bed
and get ready
for Winter.
Thank you for sharing!
Thank you for reading, Olivia. π
Thank you. Yes, itβs hard sometimes to leave that cozy bed. Happy autumn. π
Yes, truly….It feels even harder to imagine wanting to leap out when we “fall back” for Daylight Savings soon. Happy Autumn, Lori!