Reanimated Lavender Granola Switchblade Nun rides again.

Monday, October 10, 2011

Helpless Leaves

Good sense is a good thing,
and good things deserve admiration
and consideration;
it's a fool who says it isn't so.

I'm thinking, though, about the helpless leaves--
all summer they keep a pleasant, constant green,
and none of June's cajoling charms
can make them break that easy grace.

Winter has still less success--
she is too hard,
too harsh,
and has no reward but her deepening cold.

It is the Autumn that makes me think of you,
because that is when the helpless leaves
love the shortening light,
a certain angle of the sun,
and the crisp late mornings of spiced cider days.

Good sense is a good thing,
but god how I love the things that are,
simply because they must be--
yellow, gold, crimson, these rise because Nature insists.
Like my love,
the helpless leaves can't help themselves;
it is Autumn's touch they were born to adore...
They fall.

_______

35 comments:

  1. smiles...i love fall as well...and things that just are...so dont make like a tree and leave you know...smiles.

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  2. Sad love poems fit the season, when good sense and yearning meet for their annual joust. Falling leaves are not just beautiful compost, but things that have given all they have to make sure the tree will bud again next spring. Lovely poem, Shay.

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  3. Maybe the leaves are just too tired
    to cling any longer...

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  4. This is rich and earthy, yet delicate. Really beautiful writing, Shay.

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  5. "...the shortening light" is one of my favorites in this poem. Autumn in my favorite season. Does that preference go along with my fondness for sad movies?

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  6. I could sit and write poems all day about the magical light of Fall, but you've done a spectacular job of doing it for me. Tee-Hee. I miss my leaves when they're gone, but hopefully, they'll be back come Spring. Blessings! xo

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  7. Well said!

    I come from a clime that has no real seasons, but your words make me want to jump into a pile of fallen leaves. :-)

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  8. The falling leaves make me a little sad, too, but yet, I love this season anyway.

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  9. I love this. "Good things deserve admiration and consideration"...and this poem is definitely a good thing! Autumn is my favorite, I completely understand why the leaves fall for it...such a pretty piece, Shay :)

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  10. I dont know where to start except to say I've read this 3 times now and each time another phrase touches me.

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  11. Fall is my favorite, too---something fits about fall and poetry.

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  12. So beautiful and poignant. I especially love the closing lines.......sigh.

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  13. they fall and it is the saddest sight.

    thanks for your kind words and thoughts in my blog.

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  14. Bittersweet's always best for love -- hardly commonsensical, more ironical and whimsical and bluesical all at once. Rilke in his Tenth Elegy talked about the miracle what can only be called autumnal, which your poem hammers fast:

    ... And we, who have always thought
    of happiness rising, would feel
    the emotion that almost overwhelms us
    when a happy thing falls

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  15. A sensitive poem combining the harsh, beautiful and inevitable into something we love in spite of the loss.

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  16. i fall for autumn as well...so easy to let go when you know the season catches you and loves back until you hit the ground...

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  17. love this! "but god how I love the things that are,
    simply because they must be--" and so it is.

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  18. lovely imagery... love & the season's change have a lot in common.. from sunny highs to cold darkness. great work

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  19. a string quartet of a cool poem gem!

    And I love love love your commerce-comment on my 'value' post.

    You are always a touch of magic!


    Warm Aloha from Honolulu;

    Comfort Spiral



    > < } } ( ° >

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  20. Really enjoyed the piece. Nature handled very nicely, love that line spiced cider days-really great. Thanks for the read

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  21. Superb! Incredibly beautiful and simple and lovely..... Bravo!

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  22. interesting take on autumn... very unique

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  23. Lovingly bittersweet. I felt a little nostalgic reading this, chica. Loving it.

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  24. Oh, it is already winter here and your gorgeous poem made me long for autumn like a lover. Always marvelous to visit you blog and I find myself looking around for a comfy chair and wanting to pet Bosco. Thank you for the laugh via your comment. I really needed it tonight. I hope my reply at Chromapoesy will return the favor.

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  25. Sweet. We live now in a place with two seasons -- wet or dry -- but I still wax nostalgic for autumn leaves.

    Especially liked "like my love,
    the helpless leaves can't help themselves..."

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  26. A beautiful piece of writing Shay really love it...bkm

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  27. You last stanza is wonderful and yes the leaves must fall when autumn comes around. But the colors are so wonderful before they actually do fall just to watch them turn
    http://gatelesspassage.com/2011/10/11/the-day-of-the-dead/

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  28. oh, i wish we had autumn here in Phoenix! this is a beautiful love song, Shay! to nature and to love. the last line is perfection! stunning!

    and...um... when you see your blogroll has a post from "my heart's love songs" don't think your blog's been hacked. i've changed the name of my blog but kept the old URL. there's a post up explaining it if you're interested. almost 7am here and i've yet to sleep but i'll be back later to catch up! *hugs* d

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  29. You always bring 'glee' to me.
    Fall is definitely an inspirational season both emotionally and creatively. It harbors those soft whispers we hold within in the other seasons.
    Gracias, Blossom.

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  30. Every week I make like an autumn leaf and fall for your words. Beautiful.

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  31. Beautiful. Fall is a good time to stop and think about many things.

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  32. this is a nice take on nature...coupled with Love. an homage to Autumn & Love.
    one line of your poem reminds me of an Emily Dickenson poem (a certain slant of light).
    leaves & love's 'falling'

    nice blending poem here...well coupled these two motifs.
    I enjoyed reading this.
    thanks for sharing.

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  33. What great simplicity and directness. Nothing gets in the way of the underlying artistry. This is very polished. I enjoyed reading it.

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  34. Yeah, love is like falling. (Hey, my word verification is "mouseal!" Does that mean "like a mouse?" His ears were quite mouseal.)

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