Saturday Haiku: As Blossoms Fade

 

soft pink hues arise
among hydrangea blossoms
as the petals fall

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Photo by Charles Kinnaird

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Autumn Equinox

Autumn Equinox

On this equinox, time is slant –

on its way, as it were,

not settled like solstice.

Butterflies still grace the zinnias,

hummingbirds continue their sorties

never more certain

than on this day.

 

But this day is passing,

tipping and slant

as if summer might slide off the plate.

The sun shines, sharp and clear

as a Hopper painting.

A lawnmower whirs and chomps

in a distant neighbor’s yard.

The mockingbird makes

his declaration,

but this day is passing,

passing like the newly fallen leaf.

 

A momentary pause

as the season turns from

summer bright

to autumn blaze

before the world settles

to the depth of winter solstice.

 

The world can sing

on the slant of an equinox.

 

                          ~ Charles Kinnaird

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Photos by Charles Kinnaird

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Suddenly the Dawn

  

Suddenly the Dawn

I must have set my sights upon

Enduring the winter nights,

Forgetting the natural turning

Of my orbiting home.

Did the earth cross some stellar threshold,

Or was that turning at work

Even in my darkness?

However it was that her course was plotted,

A new day arose

When suddenly the dawn

Cast her soft light in the early hours

Where darkness had heretofore been the expectation.

A turning of the season

Brings expectation of light.

                                                                   ~ CK

   

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Photo: Sunrise (Public Domain)

Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

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Saturday Haiku: Turning

      Sometimes silently

           the season turns, revealing

           joy in the new day.

                              ~ CK

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Photo: Hay field on a farm near Montevallo, Alabama

Credit: Charles Kinnaird

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Things That Were Hidden in Life

I spent some time this week getting the yard in shape for winter. Last weekend I mowed the grass for the last time this season and raked leaves for the first time this season. Flower gardens were weeded, raked clean and mulched for the winter.  Hummingbird feeders were brought in and cleaned for storage; thistle seed and sunflower seed feeders were brought out and made ready for goldfinches, sparrows, cardinals, titmice and towhees’ winter provisions.  Flowering vines, now withered, were pulled off the lattice fence.  There are still some trees in pots that need to be mulched and winterized before the temperatures drop below freezing.  The land, even on a suburban lot, calls out the changing of the seasons. We who work the land must make things ready as we attempt to shape the horticultural life around us.

Sometimes when fall and winter arrive, we see things in the stillness that we missed during the lively summer. The oak tree in the backyard, for example, has dropped its leaves, revealing a squirrel’s nest and a bird’s nest that had eluded my notice when everything was green. I think I want to write a poem about “what was hidden in life.” I’ll have to sit with that idea for a while.  In the past, I’ve written poems inspired by spring, summer, fall and winter – some of which I’ve put on my blog.  Perhaps in the stillness of this dormant season, I’ll write about what was hidden in the life of spring and made known in the dead of winter.

At any rate, I like change of the seasons. The autumnal change is my favorite herald of things to come. I like the call to slow down and look inward. Firing up the furnace and bringing down coats and sweaters signals the turn in our efforts to find warmth within. The ever darkening nights that shorten our days cause us to treasure the light. When spring eventually arrives, I always resist at first. Perhaps it is my introverted nature that loves the inwardness of winter. Eventually, however, the season holds sway and I move outward to enjoy the days of spring. For now, I will enjoy the autumn air and look forward to the cool of winter. 

I’ll spend the season doing a bit more reflecting. We are entering the Advent season so it is naturally a time to watch, prepare and wait. 

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