I do not really have a favorite season. There are things about every part of the year that I enjoy, whether it be the glowing days of summer, the snowy nights of winter, or the brilliant changes that take place in spring and autumn. Many of the images that I use when I write have their origins in the natural world, and so as the months change, so do the visual elements of my writing. For today, I have included a poem that I wrote a year ago around this time. The inspiration for this poem came from an afternoon that I spent on the hill outside my dorm, drinking tea, reading, and giving my eyes a rest from time to time by looking out over the vista before me. It was a beautiful day, and I tried to incorporate that natural beauty into this poem, along with the calm and stillness that I felt sitting there with my back against a tree at the top of that hill, without a care in the world.

Autumnal

Hush now

Let the wind and the grass play

At imitating water

There is nothing to be found in this now

But then

Then, and its liqueur

Seeping through the cracks in memory

Warming from the eyes downward

Look closely

Listen closely

Feel closely

This is everything

None of it matters

But that is the true beauty of it

Steep smaller pots

And leave a third of each cup empty

To be filled by the emotions around you

Watch the rippling grass

And the cloud shapes in the trees

Listen to the waves between their branches

And all the other murmurings of life

This symphony, this production, this performance

Is always in progress

There is never a final bow

They call it quiet

But it is everything and nothing but

It is