Autumn Farewell
I cling to the calmness of nature’s autumn departure in these agitated times of elections and war. It isn’t easy, but I repeatedly bring myself back to the beauty surrounding me.
We’re having an unusually dry autumn in the NY Finger Lakes, but no violent weather. The days are gentle and soft. Of course it won’t last, but I’m grateful for calm November days. And a few poems, too.
Song for Autumn
Mary Oliver
Don’t you imagine the leaves dream now
Of how comfortable it will be to touch the Earth
Instead of the nothingness of the air and
The endless Freshets of wind?…
(published in Poetry Foundation, 2005)
The Oak Leaves
Edna St. Vincent Millay
But my heart goes out to the oak-leaves that are the last to sigh “Enough,”
and lose their hold;
They have boasted to the nudging frost and to the two-and-thirty winds that they would never die,
Never even grow old.
…These are those russet leaves that cling
All winter, even into the spring,
To the dormant bough,
in the wood knee-deep in the snow the only colored thing….
Collected Poems of Edna St. Vincent Millay. New York: Harper, 1939.
Nothing Gold Can Stay
Robert Frost
Nature’s first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf’s a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.
***
For other posts about the changing of the season, see First Monarchs Arrives: Symbolism and Soul. Hurrah! The summer Monarchs are now arriving in Mexico. No one knows how many there will be, but some are there clustering together on old trees. A census will tell us more in mid winter. After the Storm is a piece about the fate of the forest in a wind storm when the winter winds damaged some old trees and made a mess in the forest.
November 10, 2024 at 7:32 pm
Catherine Ann Bearsley
Elaine, thank you for these images, words and this conversation that I’ve just discovered here. We are Monday 11th here, Remembrance Day. I’m ambivalent in these strange times. My response(s) to election results were complex and deeper than I had anticipated – coming from a 78 yr old feminine Australasian perspective. They have eased as I have avoided all tv news since then and attempted to understand what brings me peace, especially ‘balance’. Not easy. However everyday relationships and tasks ground me. And wisdom from women I admire from afar 🙂 Grateful abundant blessings
November 11, 2024 at 12:41 pm
Elaine Mansfield
Hello Catherine. It’s been a stressful time in my world. There’s a ritual today to commemorate the signing of a treaty with the Iroquois Nation. I’d love to attend, but it’s over an hour away and I’m worn out. It’s a time for the unconscious to speak, so I’m resting and dreaming. I’m 79 and can’t quite accept what just happened in my country. I’m concerned for the young ones who inherit this world. I don’t watch tv because of my hearing problems, but I do read some news. Not too much the last few days. Yesterday, I went to a memorial service with many people I’ve known and meditated with since the late 1960s and early 1970s. It was sobering to see our aging and also to feel how unsettled we are, and yet it was comforting to be together. I appreciate your blessings. May your world be filled with peace.
November 10, 2024 at 10:33 am
Lin Gregory
Thank you for sharing these words Elaine – it does make me wonder if the calmness of the Autumn outside (it sounds like we’re having a similar calm, still and dry autumn in the UK now as you are) is mother natures balm to the madness that goes on in the world of politics and government. Sending much autumnal love and light.
November 11, 2024 at 12:24 pm
Elaine Mansfield
I don’t know, Lin. There is a madness in me and I had a dream about my Jungian teacher Marion Woodman that calmed me some. No instsruction other than her loving warmth and smiles. Maybe that’s enough. Sending you love across the sea.
November 6, 2024 at 1:19 pm
Karen
Thank you for sharing those beautiful poems Elaine. I drank them in on this dreary day.
November 6, 2024 at 5:10 pm
Elaine Mansfield
I’m glad, Karen, and walking in the forest near golden beech leaves was a healing experience. “Nothing gold can stay.” Sending you love.
November 6, 2024 at 9:24 am
Jean Raffa
Thank you for the beautiful images and thoughts I’ll try to focus on today. They evoke a mood similar to the one I’m feeling now on post-election day.
“Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.”
Still, we rise.
November 6, 2024 at 12:04 pm
Elaine Mansfield
“For there is always light, if only we’re brave enough to see it. If only we’re brave enough to be it.” ~Amanda Gorman
With love and hope.
November 6, 2024 at 6:00 am
Aladin Fazel
It’s a wonderful idea to escape the crucial events happening in the world and to refresh our souls through the beauty of Mother Nature, fresh air, and vibrant views. Thank you for sharing those beautiful poems. Take care, dear friend Elaine. The days ahead may be challenging to endure!
November 6, 2024 at 11:59 am
Elaine Mansfield
Fortunately, I live in a blue that’s peaceful for now but you’re so right about the possibility of challenging days ahead. Americans have a romance with anger and violence (and guns), so I don’t know how this will unfold. My first feeling after seeing election results this morning was gratitude it hadn’t moved to violence, at least not yet. We’ll see if democracy can hold against those who want unrestrained power.
November 5, 2024 at 8:20 pm
Lauren Banner
Reading your words are a respite from the tension coming out of the tv at the foot of my bed – this evening of the vote. The votes are coming in like leaves falling in a big gust and my gut is tight. I have to breathe. The Chama river winds its way through the valley we overlook, the cottonwoods along the river’s edge have lost their leaves, in just a few days, and so now we have a grey serpent wending its way north. The sun was warm and the air was chill, a favorite mix. What beautiful poems. Thanks for sharing them.
November 6, 2024 at 11:52 am
Elaine Mansfield
I went to sleep least night with Disco warming my legs. I didn’t expect the election to go the way it did, but I wasn’t shocked when I looked at the news this morning. As a country, we cherish our rage and resist helping others–and yet when the local food bank had all food and supplies for November and December stolen, people stepped up and donated what was needed. My son called me that morning and said he would drop by to get my check and deliver it with his. I probably wouldn’t have moved on it as quickly as he did, but I felt good about his willingness to help the community. Despite the vote, I’m grateful for the peace where I live and I’m grateful this hasn’t turned violent so far. We’ll see what unfolds in time for those of us who love democracy.
Love to you in your sweet blue state with golden leaves.
November 5, 2024 at 8:10 pm
Marian Beaman
Elaine, though we know autumn beauty is ephemeral, these poets are perennial favorites. Thanks for posting these lines. Election results are coming in this evening. Fingers crossed!
November 6, 2024 at 11:41 am
Elaine Mansfield
A sad morning (for me) for election news, but I remember my parents had to survive a depression, a world war, and my dad’s many years of an illness that would not have killed him in the days of penicillin. I hoped for the best and the saddest part for me is how much people in this country cherish anger, violence, and prejudice. Be well and may there be peace in your immediate world.
November 5, 2024 at 11:46 am
Deborah Gregory
Thank you so much Elaine for bringing me back to the beauty of the natural world and poetry with this post. Your world looks beautiful, loving your photos and it’s great that the Monarchs have arrived safely in Mexico. Oh, I love November with its quiet beauty, golden and russet carpets and fading colours. For me it’s the perfect time of the year to reflect before December and the holiday season arrives. Like January, I enjoy poetry in these months. Sending you much love and light across the oceans and oaks between us, Deborah.
November 5, 2024 at 2:47 pm
Elaine Mansfield
I wish I could write my own poems, but I’m not a poet. Still, I could try and maybe that’s what needs to happen. It’s been a stressful autumn with elections and also with my body struggling and struggling some more to adjust to rapid weather changes. I’m losing what little hearing and balance I had which is deeply disappointing. The world here is summer-like today. The trees have mostly lost their leaves except those persistent oaks–black, white, pin, and red here. Also some beech hang on into winter. Today I’ll walk with Disco with no hearing equipment but I’ll take my trekking pole. I’ll see how that goes in terms of balance. I look forward to ‘Cronology’ as my body struggles to find a new balance in late life.
Ah…the Monarchs. I read today that after a short burst a few weeks ago the Monarch arrivals ended. Because the weather and season aren’t following old patterns, it’s hard to know if they’re coming later or if there are very few or if both things are happening. Love and Blessings at the time of the New Moon and the New Year in some cultures.
November 6, 2024 at 2:06 pm
patti hirschberg
Thank you. Balm for my day-after-election news,,, softens the Shock. Results are Not what i’d expected. Grateful to be Canadian, but it’s not a panacea, for sure, with our Conservative party, racism etc. Once again your words transport me to a realm of possibility, beauty and hope. Deeply grateful.
November 6, 2024 at 5:20 pm
Elaine Mansfield
Patti, I was sad this morning, but not shocked. I wish it had been otherwise and it’s hard to imagine how things can move from here, but somehow they will. It was a gift to walk in the forest and see the last hints of gold and maroon in the leaves. I’m grateful you’re Canadian, too, but I’m staying here (not that Canada is looking for a flood of old lady immigrants from the U.S.). Somehow we’ll get through this. Somehow! I’m glad to live in New York State. I love the line from Robert Frost: “Nothing Gold can stay.” As always, we’ll see what happens next. Sending you love and blessings.