this is no time for tenderness, for blooming.
seventeen days before the sun’s center rays
brush the equator on its movement south
we open eyes to paler light, morning mist
& the first sight of exhaled breath since spring
in a thin threat foreshadowing equinox
despite the afternoon heat. already
some trees surrender before the autumnal point,
shedding leaves in their haste to embrace
cooler, quieter nights. There is weight
but also beauty in that breaking down
& giving up, leaves dropping in sighs
in that first riot of color crisping to brown
after collecting in flamed layers
to crackle under feet
bringing to mind those wicker men
but lacking smoke & sacrifice–heatless hunger
uncovering the branched, brittle bones
of trees; skeletal fingers stretching to scrape sky
as if to grasp and hold tightly
something elusive as change
Susan Daniels Poetry 
Beautiful.
Strange that I love both summer and fall, but I always feel a sense of mourning at this change.
Yes! Me, too, exactly that. mourning while reveling in all that beauty. Glad you liked!
You’ve painted a beautiful landscape, pure artistry!
David, thank you.
Fall is fun to write, and you do great work with it.
Thank you–I just love it 🙂
I have run out of words! But you paint it so well!
Oh, Noel–thank you! I enjoyed writing this one…adore fall.
simply amazing
Celestine, thank you. Love this time of year.
Beautiful, Susan…yes, the first site of exhaled breath. So very true. I like the idea of there being weight but also beauty in breaking down and giving up. So many beautiful phrases!
Mary–thanks so very much!
There is weight
but also beauty in that breaking down
& giving up…nice…love that…true in the season and often in life…that last stanza though is killer….intense imagery….like it much…
Brian, thanking you. For some reason, I am hinting at sacrifice all over in my poetry this week…glad you liked.
we open eyes to paler light, morning mist
& the first sight of exhaled breath since spring…this is beautiful….love, love the exhaling breath…and image that will stick with me…
Claudia–thank you. So glad the image will stick with you…
i so enjoyed the image of trees surrendering before the autumn shedding leaves
for quieter nights..there is a special solemn beauty within this poetic piece. thanks for sharing, Susan~
Yelena–thank you. Really appreciate the comment!
There is something about Autumn that I love…you’ve captured it here…intense & gorgeous poem 🙂
Louise–thank you–I love it too!
powerful it felt like a tale that needed to be told. loved it
oh gosh, thank you!
I really enjoyed this one, full of clear and vivid images along with an undercurrent of sadness that change can sometimes bring.
Lori–thank you–you just perfectly described autumn in one sentence.
Leavs dropping in sighs… and first sight of our own breath since spring…so many lovely lines in this Susan.
Fabulous write!
oh my–thank you!
scraping the sky to hold something elusive as change….liked it very much indeed. Beautifully painted autumn.
Oh–thank you, and so nice to “meet” you!
I like the last 3 lines..elusive indeed is change ~ Lovely writing ~
Grace
Oh, Grace–thank you!
Particularly like the idea of the trees “surrendering” and the sinister images of the wicker man and sacrifice potentially ahead. Time to find a jumper I think!
🙂 I agree–thanks so much, Holly!
Nicely alliterative with wonderful imagery
Polly–thanking you very much!
Trees grasping elusive change — very nice!
Thanks, Sabio–appreciate the visit and comment!
So very good. You captured it all expertly. Excellent write.
oh gosh, thanks. Really, really glad you liked it!
that last stanza is gorgeous.
Thanks much–I love fall, with its loss/sacrifice into winter.
Here too the trees have already started the process of losing leaves.I’m wishing and dreaming of Autumn now!
Thanks, Dana–I love it soooo much!
great piece, this one, Susan!
Mohana–thanks so much–really appreciate the comment–love your poetry.
A resonant seasonal thrum with as many textures
oh, goodness, thank you!
There is weight
but also beauty in that breaking down
& giving up,
Superb! Love the poem.
David, thank you. That is one of my favorite images in this poem. So glad you liked it too.
i love this! the ending is fabulous!
♥
Dani–thank you 🙂
A wonderful poem that merits several re-reads … some lovely lines .. particularly liked ‘but also beauty in that breaking down/ & giving up, leaves dropping in sighs’ Thoroughly enjoyed it.
Oh, I am so glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for the wonderful comments.
A flowing piece Susan – almost like this was free- written… Just cascades down the page….you really capture that change that Autumn brings…buvtheimagery and words used give it a spectral, haunting quality….exactly why I love this time of year!
Stu, wow–thanks. This did start as a free write, actually. Really cool that you picked that up! I love Autumn, it’s colors and it’s fading both.
Love your encompassing images – the way they move you through a transition in fact and in music – through word use and arrangement you give us a complete experience. Beautiful.
Oh, Gay–thank you so very much.
Leaves dropping as sighs was my favorite part, too, but add up each phrase and it’s all a perfect depiction of autumn!
Oh, Katy–thank you!
I love the leaves dropping in sighs (I see I am not alone), and the thought of trees trying to grasp elusive change. I think that is what I love most about autumn, and it seems that you do, too. Thank you.
DS–thank you. It seems we share a common love of Autumn.
Difficult to get a new slant on autumn, but this manages freshness of perspective and the appropriate sense of melancholy at the passing of all things. I like the wicker man reference leading into the skeletal resistance to change.
Dick–thank you. Glad you liked the wicker man thing.
Beautiful!
oh, thank you!