Running Toward Autumn

Lost Lagoon, the 23rd of September, 2023

Here is my response to Kaitlin Curtice’s question on Day 6 of a week of poetry: What does it mean to run toward Autumn, ready to learn from the coming season?

 

Run toward Autumn

with heart and senses wide open —
eager for its lessons and gifts.

Now, as you enter the park,

slow your pace, still your mind —
prepare to arrive to yourself.

Follow the path to the lagoon,

step by step,

by sight, by sound, by touch, by smell, by taste.

Gather red maple leaves

snagged by the thorny branches of wild roses — 

hand in hand, walk with Mother Nature.

Cast your gaze across the water

to the far shore of fading greens
where the trees are beginning to turn.

Marvel at the Great Blue Heron,

with his sharp, unblinking eye,

the skilled fisher of three-spined stickleback.

Turn your face to the grey sky,

feel the gentle rain wash away summer's drought and dust —
Breathe in fresh, clean, sweet, cool air.

Slowly, deeply, completely exhale and soften —
release yourself to the natural rhythms

of the breath, of the place, of the season.

You know and love this urban forest,

all that lives and dwells here

in every season, but especially Autumn.

This feels like home.

You feel whole —
and deeply grateful.

 

Juvenile Great Blue Heron at Lost Lagoon, the 23rd of September, 2023

 

Autumn Drought

A few trees, vines, and grasses glow in the late afternoon sunlight during this unusually dry, warm October. (Most plants are withered and brown.) Each drought-resilient plant with shades of red, yellow, orange and green — an oasis for thirsty eyes and soul.

Delicious Autumn

“Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the Earth seeking the successive autumns.”

~ George Eliot

 
 

"I see the turning of a leaf dancing in an autumn sun, and brilliant shades of crimson glowing when the day is done."

~ Hazelmarie Mattie Elliott

“As long as autumn lasts, I shall not have hands, canvas and colors enough to paint the beautiful things I see.”

~Vincent van Gogh