By Patrice M. Wilson
Honolulu Branch
These flaring reds, golden yellows,
oranges, magentas are last novas
of trees before they’re brown
crinkled candidates for another
kind of fire.
An unknowing child delights
in myriads of flushed brilliance
and loves the idea of snow
against black trunks sticking
their eerie points into a pallid
sky, these painted precursors
of death.
But the crispy air calls us
to be alert for light
that, though it fades
into a kind of welcome cold,
comes burning daily and nightly
in a warmth enclosed
by the heart.
So let them come,
the days, the days are skylights
in a living room with sofa
and chairs upholstered
in wilderness color.
We must look up to them as we
look up to the morning star.
Patrice this is a stirring poem and so fitting for the season! Thank you for sharing it.
You’re welcome! I’m glad you like it. Claire Massey is to be thanked for allowing it to be shared here., and I have done this in my response to her comment.
Patrice, your poem is lovely and sad, such vivid imagery of autumn, the bleakness of winter, and our place in the scheme of things. Quite poignant.
“Lovely and sad…” Those words do describe the tone of the poem., and I very much like the fact that you point this out. Thanks.
Nice job and quite the image of autumn. Thank you
Thank you for your comment. This poem was inspired by many images and memories, from my growing up in New Jersey.
Patricia, your poem is wonderful. It reminds me of Gerard Manley Hopkins’ “Spring and Fall: To a Young Child.” Both poems acknowledge how autumn’s beauty cannot fail to remind us of the inevitability of death. Though the child in the Hopkins poem is experiencing a vague sadness at the fallen leaves, your “unknowing child” has yet to feel anything but delight. And we are comforted by the light that IS left. I think your metaphors of autumn leaves as “novas” and the leaves (and/or snowflakes) “sticking . . . their eerie points,” and the days as “skylights” – all are very fine. What a beautiful ending. I look forward to reading more of your work..
Karen, your detailed response to my poem is gratifying and spot on. I appreciate your comparison to Hopkins’ poem, and went to read it online; the similarities in theme are clear, while the style and tone are quite different. His poem reminded me of “For Whom the Bell Tolls” by John Donne. My main purpose was to uplift, and not to remind readers of their mortality, although that is in my poem too. The theme of Donne’s poem that is suggested by the first phrase and following, “No man (sic) is an island,” is something I would like to work into another poem, and may have already. Thank you for your insights.
Charlene, I am delighted that you saw the delight in this poem! Thanks for your uplifting response. I think we should celebrate those possibly rare moments of utterly good thoughts and feelings, no matter what might have triggered them.
What a moving, well-crafted poem about acceptance, about the beauty and comfort to be found in the inevitable.
Thank you, Patrice!
Thank you, Claire, for your very insightful interpretation of “Autumn Leaves,” and for allowing it to be published here.
A very well written poem of delight. Bravo!