PEN ART - A POEM FOR FALL

LIVING IN AWE
A Poem that doesn't rhyme:

(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

The crisp sharp sunlight filters down through my bedroom window.

It nudges me awake from warm and cozy sleeping.

The air is cool as I regretfully leave the comfort of warm quilts and grab my robe.

Bare feet against wooden floors whisper that winter is coming soon.

The air feels fresher; almost as if a cool rain has fallen through the night,

Leaving only cheerful sunlight behind.

Everything is brighter and cleaner today.

I take deeper breaths. 

The air feels good and fresh in my lungs.

I breathe in Fall and all of its wonderfulness.

Morning coffee just has a better flavor in this season,

I add cinnamon for fun.

I sip slowly as I linger in the slanted light, wishing I were more carefree.

Finally I step out into the morning and see the trees have put on their annual fashion show.

They parade all around me in their vivid deep colors,

Those long, lean, graceful trees that understand the art of modeling better than any human,

I pass between them on my way,

Feeling small and insignificant in their midst;

My eyes noting how each tree characteristically paints the sky behind it with a unique individual flair.

Their swirling leaves dance on the side of the road as I travel on toward the mundane destinations of the day,

Those messy trees leave their fashion in a trail all over the earth’s floor,

like a teen-aged girl who has over-shopped.

I drink in the colors of lovely leaves,

Waving at me,

dancing in the wind as if they were next door neighbors calling out for me to stop and say hello.

The pumpkins at the curb market smile toothy smiles 

as I venture on down the road.

I resist the urge to stop and pick one for my front porch.

I know I would be late for nothing important;

So I move on.

With the magic of God’s creation surrounding me as I go,

I proclaim out loud to no one in particular that it is a shame I must continue with my boring usualness.

On such a day, it simply isn’t fair!

And it just doesn’t seem right not to stop a bit in the Fall and move a little slower.

I feel as if the whole world should just stand still for at least a day

And absorb the returning of this lovely season’s beauty.

It is the beginning of Fall

And I am completely in awe.