Harbinger: Fall.

No frost yet.

No brilliant Fall colors.

Gusty cool, clean, dry Canadian air.

Just a few yellowing leaves giving up their hold.

They dance in front of me.

In a midair updraft.

As if saying goodbye.

Did you appreciate me?

They dance in the street.

Seeming to move against the wind.

Doing their own choreography.

Their rustling sound is magic.

Bringing on perennial regrets.

Carpe diem?

Guilty. Again.

Too many distractions. Like here.

Patti Beagle sits on the chair.

Beautiful brown accusatory eyes.

You cheated me again, dude.

We ain't gonna have a chance to share it forever.

Bitter winter on the way.

Gets tougher every year.

Had the most beautiful Summer I can remember.

Kick myself in the ass.

'I'm sittin' on the dock of the bay
Watching the tide roll away
Ooo, I'm just sittin' on the dock of the bay
Wastin' time." Otis Redding.

What I need is "Wastin' more time."

Doing what's really important.

Like sharing, & caring, & loving.

Like I did with my kids today.

Comments: 13

Tanya P. Sep 27, 2009, 9:14pm UTC

Nice flow to this, Jim. Time does sneak past us.

Jim G. Sep 27, 2009, 9:22pm UTC

Thanks, Tanya. You'd think that we're old enough to know better, wouldn't you?

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Kathy W. Sep 27, 2009, 9:40pm UTC

Jim, I think the weather changes make us revert to the cave dweller's schedule. This is when we should be harvesting, preserving, storing, "gathering" firewood, berries, etc...etc.
Hard to break a 20,000 year collective habit. I always get antsy in the fall, almost like the stress level is up. I don't know if I've conditioned myself this way, because of school trepidation; or if this is something instinctual that we have not yet "bred out" of our collective consciousness.
Either way, I choose to think of it as: If I knew I didn't have but a week to live...how would I spend my day?

Just like I did today. With family, chatting with the kids and grands on the phone. And meeting up with my "gather buds."

Blessed be, Enjoy the leaves...

For you, from a couple years ago...
http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977167193

Wilka

Jim G. Sep 28, 2009, 9:11am UTC

Wilka: Thanks for the link. Wow, that is beautiful - I'm gonna save it. Maybe it is instinctual, or in our genes. I've lived all over the country, but my roots & my family are here.

I only post something like that once in awhile, when the spirit moves me. It's far from professional, but it makes me feel good to say how I feel sometimes.

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Kathy W. Sep 27, 2009, 9:42pm UTC

BTW? I got so caught up in the message (that's a good thing...) that I forgot to tell you how much I enjoyed the wording of this poem.
Thanks. This piece is now one of my favorites.
Wilka

Jim G. Sep 27, 2009, 10:37pm UTC

Thanks, Wilka. I revise a little, but it pretty much comes off of the top of my head. Makes me think that I probably format it in my mind before I print it.

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Cena W. Sep 28, 2009, 1:55am UTC

I liked your poetry.
And your yearning for more time with your children.
You did give yourself today

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J. Reid Sep 28, 2009, 8:58am UTC

Quite relatable well done!

Here in New England the Autumn colors are also quite slow to develop--I sort of like that because it gives me more time to photograph the array of beauty as it unfolds.

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Harbinger: Fall.

Comments: 13

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