TIS THE SEASON @Linda Swift

No, I am not talking about the Holiday Season. (Bet you thought for a minute there I  was getting ahead of myself, didn't you?) But I could be justified in doing so since that season has been confronting us in stores and the media since the 4th of July. To clarify, the subject of this post is the fall season.

Every year, I welcome signs of spring, and enjoy summer's abundance, but I bask in the fulfillment of autumn most of all. There is something about nature's burst of glorious colors just before earth's winter sleep that is both exhilarating and sad.  And it inspires me to attempt to put that feeling into words. Autumn is the season when my thoughts are most likely to spill over into poems and I want to share a few of these with you. I write varied forms of poetry but am usually described as a lyric poet and the poems here are of that classification,  although I have included haiku for those who prefer prose. 

I invite you to take a few moments from your busy day to have a cup of apple cider and a slice of gingerbread while you read the poems below. (Please don't get crumbs on your computer) I hope the words will paint autumn scenes in your heart to remember long after the last leaf has fallen. 

SURVIVORS

Once vibrant autumn colors,

subdued but clinging still,

reflect past season's beauty

defying winter's chill.

Though fragile now and faded,

they flaunt survival's will

made rare by lack of number,

undaunted, clinging still.

~ ~ ~

HAIKU

Fingers of wind weave

A bright autumn tapestry

As leaves drift toward ground

~ ~ ~

I MISS YOU MOST IN AUTUMN

I miss you most in autumn

when maple leaves are gold

 and early twilight subtly hints

 of winter's biting cold.

I long for you in autumn

 when shadows fill the sky

 as wavering wings of wild geese

 echo their lonely cry.

I wish for you in autumn

 to walk where frost has browned

 the slender ripened stalks of grain

 now dying on the ground.

I grieve for you in autumn

 when gentle  rain-kissed wind

 plays hide-and-seek with harvest moon

 that marks the summer's end.

I miss you most in autumn,

 but then I should have known

 there would be many autumns

 and I would be alone.

~ ~ ~

HAIKU

Incandescent lamps

 Illumine autumn's twilight

 Maple trees gleam gold

~ ~ ~

CHICKAMAUGA…RIVER OF DEATH

The towering oaks stand silent by the road

 that winds below the sturdy limbs they spread

 to intertwine and shelter this abode.

 Brief golden canopies now laud these dead

 who lie beneath a century of dust,

 all splendor spent. And now the battle's sound

 is choked, muffled in cannons cloaked in rust,

 still guarding those who fought to hold this ground.

 The rows of stones that mark each place in time

seem endless even as the leaves. Gray hue

of monuments wreathed in September's rime

now consecrate this hallowed ground anew.

Brave men of North and South now peaceful lie.

And yet, a silent question haunts us.  Why?

~ ~ ~

HAIKU

Honking in transit

 Impatient heavy traffic

 On skyway express

~ ~ ~

SEPTEMBER SILENCE

No sound, only silence

 as September days fly

 on wild geese wings

 that shadow sapphire sky;

 as winsome wind flings

 the flaming leaves high;

 as gilded golden sun

 reflects a lovely lie;

 but I know summer's done

 and all things die.

  ~ ~ ~

HAIKU

Bright colors bleeding

Orange, gold, red from rain-washed limbs

September's last stand

~ ~ ~

All of these poems except the first are from A Potpourri of Poems, available from Amazon and other distributors in print and ebook. It contains almost one hundred poems and thirty-three full color pictures. Or if you prefer to hear the poems read by the lovely voice of Becky Doughty you can also purchase an audible edition.

http://www.audible.com/pd/Drama-Poetry/A-Potpourri-of-Poems-Audiobook/B01DFJJBAC

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