fall comes to the valley in whispers

Posted on September 21, 2012 by Susan L Daniels

cornfields left dry and standing
in late september whisper urgency
the harvest gods are impatient
for everything to be gathered in,
dried, or ground to flour,
so they can dance with light on water
before it freezes, or sleep in leaf-piles.
yes, early fall is abundance;
urgent reaping before frost, days
scented with green tomato pickle or chili sauce
because wasting what grows is not done
even though we do not trade for our harvests
any longer with blood

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About Susan L Daniels

I am a firm believer that politics are personal, that faith is expressed through action, and that life is something that must be loved and lived authentically--or why bother with any of it?
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12 Responses to fall comes to the valley in whispers

  1. Polly's avatar Polly Robinson says:
    September 21, 2012 at 6:24 pm

    ‘…wasting what grows is not done’ … wish this were so everywhere Susan, sadly I don’t believe it to be the case

    • Susan L Daniels's avatar Susan L Daniels says:
      September 21, 2012 at 6:46 pm

      So much of what we grow as a nation is wasted. The least I can do is put up what I grow, but it does not stem the tide of waste. I just cannot tend something all year and then reject what it gives me–especially as the daughter of 2 depression babies who lived through rationing.

  2. davidtrudel's avatar davidtrudel says:
    September 21, 2012 at 6:32 pm

    The dry cornfields, intimations of a wicker man, so very evocative!

    • Susan L Daniels's avatar Susan L Daniels says:
      September 21, 2012 at 6:49 pm

      David–you are good! I was thinking about wicker men, decided not to mention them at all by name, because I did that a week or so ago, and somehow you still caught my thought as it ran through that dry cornfield…

  3. Mama Zen's avatar Mama Zen says:
    September 21, 2012 at 8:52 pm

    “the harvest gods are impatient
    for everything to be gathered in”

    Oh, that is good!

  4. Green Speck's avatar Green Speck says:
    September 22, 2012 at 1:40 am

    “even though we do not trade for our harvests
    any longer with blood” – so full of feelings !!!

  5. I HAVE A VOICE's avatar I HAVE A VOICE says:
    September 22, 2012 at 5:30 pm

    I affirm improvement is always necessary but let’s not forget to affirm the good and beautiful and blessings ~Deborah

  6. nelle's avatar nelle says:
    September 22, 2012 at 7:39 pm

    So true. And those here long before us, the winters they faced, the preparations they needed to make. Even in my lifetime, winters were longer and more severe than now. When I made my first trip to scout my future college, there were still residual snowbanks on 1 May.

    We prepare less now, we simply retreat indoors and close the windows.

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