Fall Song
Another year gone, leaving everywhere
its rich spiced residues: vines, leaves,
the uneaten fruits crumbling damply
in the shadows, unmattering back
from the particular island
of this summer, this NOW, that now is nowhere
except underfoot, moldering
in that black subterranean castle
of unobservable mysteries - roots and sealed seeds
and the wanderings of water. This
I try to remember when time's measure
painfully chafes, for instance when autumn
flares out at the last, boisterous and like us longing
to stay - how everything lives, shifting
from one bright vision to another, forever
in these momentary pastures.
~ Mary Oliver ~
(American Primitive)
The onset of Fall always seems to throw me into a cyclical reflectiveness. I savor the subtle changes, the vibrancy, the moist fragrant scent of leaves returning to soil, the beauty that is present in death. The process inevitably seems synonymous to life and the purging, and stripping, and dying that must take place to bring about renewal and new life. The seasons spur reminders to examine my own heart. So often it is so easy to see what others need to change but hard sometimes to be confronted with our own selfishness, or impatience, or fear.
"To comfort all who that mourn,
To give them beauty for ashes,
The oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
That they may be called trees of righteousness,
The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified."
Isaiah 61:3
Just some eclectic thoughts, and on the lighter side of things, the kids and I have been up to all kinds of Autumnal fun.
I don't know about you, but I love pumpkin flavored things. These chocolate-chip pumpkin bars are delish and even better with hot, spiced chai. You can find the recipe here.
Some things I can't get enough of lately;
1- this chilly Autumn air
2- reason to wear my favorite sweater
3- Juden's love for people and his imagination
4- the sound of Ella's singing ( she's playing the violin in the picture, obviously)
5- these kissable cheeks
