of death and the closing of a seasonal chapter. But, I've always likened
heavy, ripe, late summer to a woman, ready to give birth. Autumn is
my genesis. Maybe it's because I was born in October, that I am
regenerated in the fall. I consider it to be the start of my year. Fresh,
arctic air breathes new life into my stagnate summer soul. I savor fall;
the cool foggy mornings, the vibrant tones, bursts of crisp, spicy air
through open windows. My zest returns. I can once again think clearly.
I am born again. Ah, soon now.
Genesis
Wrapped
in death clothes
of an August womb
amniotic perspiration
embalms
my ripe
summer corpse
annual gestation
in midwestern sun
cocooned
until autumn genesis
calls this
lazy Lazarus
to be born
willow, 2009
photo: red impatiens in my grandmother's iron pot, Sept 2009
Yes, I'm SO in agreement with you, Willow. In autumn, there is a feeling of renewal. It's harvest time. Love your poem! Didn't you say something about a book a while back?
ReplyDeleteI'm a summer girl...but I will admit that there is something magical about autumn. :) It's always lovely to stroll down the sidewalk among the leaves.
ReplyDeleteLove the poem! :)
Autumn Always Comes To Me As A Surprise.Yes, Something Languid & Calm.......A Time To Rest & Plan.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful poem - so rich.
ReplyDeleteI am a warmth person but because it is so hot here whether rainy or dry season, I have come to miss the seasons. I loved spring and the beginning of autumn but come November, I wanted to hibernate until the cherry blossom burst forth once again!
What a lovely picture and poem, Willow.
ReplyDeleteI've always experienced the calendar year as a "school" year (either as a student, or teacher, or mother of a student) and so September has always represented the Fresh Start and the Year of Being Older. A rebirth of sorts, yes. Today my daughter and I bought her new shoes and school supplies . . .and I bought a moleskin notebook, with a resolution to write every day.
Bee, I don't associate the "fresh start" of autumn with the school year at all. I hated school, having attended seven different schools, always the new kid struggling to find my niche.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful photograph Willowy One...a distinct Tuscan feel to it. I love the promise of Autumn after another disappointing English summer. I wouldnt mind if our weather 'guessers' didnt make such lavish promises. Another enjoyable poem too...thank you.
ReplyDeleteI am in full agreement, Willow. I am also an October baby :) I moved to Florida a few years ago and while I love our weather most of the time, I do miss the cooler autumn tempatures and falling leaves of the Midwest, where I grew up. I put out lots of pumpkins and drape my home in faux autumn leaves from September-November every year to compensate!
ReplyDeleteAutumn is so wonderful and I so happy I can enjoy it this year! Missed visiting you!
ReplyDeleteYup, I'm another one who comes to life in the Fall. Summer kills me (heat and humidity are not my friends), Fall brings me back to life, and I revel in Winter, especially when it snows.
ReplyDeleteLike Bee, I associate the start of the academic year with renewal rather than decay.
ReplyDeleteMe, too! Must be our fall birthdays. These past few cool days have made it all the more appealing! And I actually saw a few leaves turning orange in the neighbor's tree today!
ReplyDeletehi willow, i'm a leo but i find the summer heat and sun (well not the last two summers) too much for me and i feel like my senses open out in the autumn. it's a kind of awakening. a birth. this was a beautiful post. have a lovely evening at the manor. steven
ReplyDeleteI'm a Spring girl, but Autumn is my second choice with the crisper air and the changing of the foliage colors. Like your poetry very much keep on writing.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful words and poem....the leaves are turning here and the nights draw in, jacket and scarf required when out....lovely!!
ReplyDeleteWillow, I bow to thee m'lady! Well done!
ReplyDeleteAnd saw your comment to Bee; I lost count of all the schools I'd attended and can relate to this, very much so...
Roy, don't get me started on the joys of snow!!
ReplyDeletewonderful post...i love autumn...maybe b/c it comes right after my birthday...the walks in the cool air amid forests blazen with color...ahh...lovely poem as well...
ReplyDeleteI love fall too! The crispness in the air... mmmmm....
ReplyDeleteLove the poem!
Willow, I feel the same about autumn being the Genesis. I'm an October child, too. Although where I live now, spring occurs in October, but sometimes, I get lucky with even a freakish snow flurry. Or, a week of cold rain. Either way, it's enough for my Genesis.
ReplyDeleteAny time can be a beginning but I tend to agree with you that Autumn always seems to be the season of beginning rather than the season of ending.
ReplyDeleteAutumn is my favourite season. Spring is too "pastel".I am always in love with the colours of Autumn...and the crispness.I really like your poem!
ReplyDeleteI like your thought of the 'zest' of fall. Perfect. Beautiful photograph.
ReplyDeleteCatherine
Amazing post Willow, thanks! I too love the fall. Heck, I love all of the seasons but fall means no bugs!
ReplyDeleteAnother fine poem preceded by thoughts with which I heartily agree. Perhaps a fellow Scorpio?
ReplyDeleteHi Marc, no I'm not a Scorpio, although my youngest son is. I'm a Libra!
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Willow! Living in Alabama, it gets pretty hot most days, but when September arrives... the weather starts getting beautiful. Sometimes I miss the fall leaves from New England... but I'll never miss the snow.
ReplyDeleteYou are a true poet, I just play around with rhymes! I am an October birthday person, myself!
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean about the sense of renewal in fall -- though for me it's linked to that first day of school memory: new notebook, pencils, new classes, teachers, the hope that THIS time I'll get it right . . . and now. fifty some years later, it's also about saying goodbye to the garden -- plowing under the weeds and worms, the bugs and blight for a clean slate and a rest, before another new beginning in Spring. with the hope that in next year's garden I'll finally get it right.
ReplyDeleteoh, wow! what a beautiful image - and i think a taste of tuscany, too, like one of the readers above - gorgeous - well, second only to your verse - loved it! notwithstanding i'm a true leo - pure to the core - your verse is very persuasive!
ReplyDeleteI was just this day thinking how much I love this season. It's changing here in Maryland and lately the weather has been blissfully cool and perfect. God, I love fall. I was born this time of year, too.
ReplyDeleteI'm always ready to be reborn..I so clearly feel your birth in the poem..
ReplyDeleteYou seem so ready for whatever comes...each season is such a seduction!
I LOVE Autumn yet always mourn the end of summer as well...I am fickle!
ReplyDeleteSpring is my time for regeneration, but then I was born in April. Coincidence? I don't think so.
ReplyDeleteWillow,
ReplyDeleteYour poem gives a whole new meaning to the end of summer. I have always seen summer as a restful vacationing time and the cool fall weather to be a time of greater activity. My birthday arrives with the new year so that is my regenerating time. I love the weather all year but I hate driving in the freezing rain.
The picture of your impatiens is very rich and savory.
Thank you for posting this reflective theme blog.
That is a stunning poem, Willow and really feels like Autumn to me. In Australia we are now in Spring which is a lovely time. My favourite season of them all is Winter. Autumn does have a lovely, reflective, harmonious beat to it however. I love the impatiens image you chose. Thank you also for your kind word's on my grandfather's death. xx
ReplyDeleteLovely analogy of Autumnal days Willow. It reminds me of that fascinating word fecund. Not only does it refer to one's state of fertility & ability to reproduce, but the term 'fecundity of the mind' means the intellectual productivity of a creative imagination - & that's exactly what you have!
ReplyDeleteMillie ^_^
P.S. MOTH (Man-of-the-House) thanks you muchly for your warm birthday wishes.
I'm totally summer; water, breezes, sun, long walks. Harvests are good too.
ReplyDeleteMillie, I thank you with warmest fecundity!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the moth explanation, as well. It puzzled me. :^)
Willow, I love autumn too, but for me it is bittersweet. I'm not sure why. I guess it is because I don't like winter: being cold, the weather (blackberry winters with the gray skies). In fact, I can't think of anything I really like about winter except seeing one snowfall. Only one.
ReplyDeleteI'm so with you on this!! I love the fall! Colors. Crackling leaves. Anticipation.
ReplyDeleteI'm a September baby, as is my firstborn; hubby man is the October baby, as is my last born.
Ditto, Willow. I was a September baby. The leaves and cool weather again. Hooray!
ReplyDeleteI'm with you...the fall of the leaves begin a rebirth of sorts, both in nature and in the mere mortals. I just wish we were feeling some of that cooler weather. happy early birthday!
ReplyDelete"I consider it to be the start of my year."
ReplyDeleteI think many do. I still relate it to a new school year. A new beginning. A fresh tablet with a 64 pack of perfect crayons. However, I tend to hang on to summer for as long as I can.
so beautifully put! I feel the same way about the fall
ReplyDeletebirth and death two sides of the same coin
....geez, and I'm not even an autumn baby
You are absolutely right! The fall brings a new beginning ---enjoy!
ReplyDeletebest-c
Ah, the colors of fall. Nature know how to keep our lives vibrant. Planting spring bulbs always give us hope of things to come. Welcome Fall.
ReplyDeleteI have always loved Autumn too, when the migratory birds are on the wing. However:
ReplyDelete>I've always likened heavy, ripe, late summer to a woman ready to give birth
we differ here. I liken it to a voluptuous woman ready to make love.
The language of your poem is delicioius and complex... But your prose gives me goosebumps:
ReplyDelete"Fresh, arctic air breathes new life into my stagnate summer soul. I savor fall; the cool foggy mornings, the vibrant tones, bursts of crisp, spicy air
through open windows. My zest returns."
Thanks... I love having goosebumps!
"struggling to find my niche"
ReplyDeleteI understand that statement in more ways than can be related.
O no! Never ever did I think of death at the beginning of September when the warmth of high summer is still all around us. Even today, after losing my sister one early September morning, do I love and cherish this season without associating it with death. I rather chose to celebrate it for the fulness of life we are gifted with.
ReplyDeleteWillow,
ReplyDeleteperfect!
That was beautiful Willow!Thank you :)
ReplyDeleteGorgeous leaves,cool air,pumpkins,
ReplyDeletespiced tea,a wood fire and a good book! I love Autumn!
well said, both prose and poem. I too feel autumn is a time of renewal and beginnings (October 8th birthday) and October is one of my favorite months for sure.
ReplyDeleteAutumn is indeed that, jolt I love for beginning...unlike any other season. The equinox giving it a welcome stability. Does that make since? To me.
ReplyDeleteHaving just come out of a chilly frosty winter, I can't wait for October and spring's bloom but I know by December, I'll be feeling exactly the same as you . . my birthday is in October also . .I too attended nine schools before the age of 15! I would so like to see an American fall . .haha I mean Autumn.
ReplyDeleteDeath clothes of an August womb.....what and interesting combination of opposites.
ReplyDeleteI love the crisp cool air of fall myself. I too feel invigorated.
Maalie...oo la la!!!
ReplyDeleteRobin, goosebumps??! Thank you so much! I'm stunned. What a fabulous compliment. :^)
ReplyDeleteNice post/poem ... when in October is your birthday?
ReplyDeleteDaryl, it's the 20th. :)
ReplyDeleteBeautiful poem, Willow.
ReplyDeleteAutumn has always been my favorite season. Leaves changing, cool nights, the pumpkin patch, first frost ... there's nothing more beautiful.
I am usually more of a summer girl, but this year I've been in love with the fall. I am feeling it as a kind of quickening, so I really resonated with your poem.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful writing!
I adore this post, Willow. In Judaism, autumn brings our harvest holiday, so I've always felt this way too.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful, beautiful. I'm all choked up.
You're such an amazing poet, Willow!
ReplyDeleteMore than one spiritual tradition sees fall as the new year, including we Jewish folk. Beautiful.
Well, would you believe it? We've had our first preview of autumn today and your poem fit like a glove. They always do, don't they. You have a special gift, 'lazy Lazarus' :-).
ReplyDeleteGreetings from London.
I too was born in October willow, and I do agree with you. I find Autumn so refreshing and look forward to those winter evenings in front of the fire.
ReplyDeleteWeaver, I LIVE for winter evenings in front of the fire. I also love to eat Sunday breakfast there.
ReplyDeletesucculent prose, willow!!! i think of fall as a time of new beginnings rather than an end. back to school always meant buying new school supplies like freshly sharpened pencils. a few additions to the wardrobe are warranted. i love to decorate my house for fall. and, i start to think about christmas preparations. new, alive, exciting!!
ReplyDeleteHello Willow,
ReplyDeleteLots of good sounds and unusual use of words here, which your preamble helps clarify for lethargic minds!
just so beautiful!
ReplyDeleteAfter a hot summer, fall is refreshing.
ReplyDeleteNice post.
Troy
Thanks for stopping and commenting about transportation to school. I laughed...I never went barefoot in the snow but did walk with holes in my clodhoppers and the cardboard mom stuck in there would get wet and by the time i got to school my feet would be wet. And when Miss Brown took my gloves and hung them on the stove to dry, she would hang my wet socks there too. And I walked around barefoot in my clodhopper shoes.
ReplyDeleteAutumn is, I have always thought, the promise of spring and rebirth. The seeds are planted in Nature to grow the following spring. So I think of autumn as the sower for tomrrow.
Every visitor counts, big time...
Pick a Peck of Pixels
lovely.. pic & poem.
ReplyDeletehave a great weekend!!
-Tracie
Beautiful! For many, autumnal renewal is essential...Thanks for popping over earlier.
ReplyDeleteI'm a spring kid myself (April) but I can see why you're biased about the fall. Lovely words and painting.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! Autumn is my best time, too! Even tho I was born in March. ;)
ReplyDeleteI'm definitely a summer sort, I can already feel myself starting to doze off and I won't wake up properly now until about April.
ReplyDeleteLove your poem--I'm pretty divided between fall & spring, but not a huge fan of high summer or deep winter.
ReplyDeleteDear Willow,
ReplyDeleteYour poem Genesis, is deeply
rooted in the earth, visceral,
and powerful.
Marie
Although I was also born in October, this subject allways put us on opposite sides, you know that! :-))) Gladly 'my' summer usually goes through October and even so I feel depressed with the upcoming winter... Lol!
ReplyDeleteThe photo is simply gorgeous!
Wonderful poem Willow. Really, it's very good.
ReplyDeleteYou Autumn Butterfly you :)
I feel exactly the same way. My birthday, too, is in October. It's my favorite month and I consider it the first month of the year.
ReplyDeleteI love the change of the seasons. It's one of the things that keep me here in New England
ReplyDelete"Lazy Lazurus"--I like the sound of that. Another stellar poem, btw.
ReplyDelete"The end of summer and the onset of autumn usually conjurs thoughts
of death and the closing of a seasonal chapter."
--I wholly agree except fr the death bit. No, it's more like"relief!" that the hot days are over although here the summer was in fact rather mild.
I am so with you on the whole autumnul regeneration thign and I was born in January. Still, I'd take January over mid July heat anyday!
Beautiful Autumn, especially October, also the month of my birth. See you are Libra, me Scorpio.....our time is coming Willow, we will celebrate! Do not despair over age, each October is precious......and I've seen many more than you dear friend! I'm permitted to feel the way you do - you are still too young!
ReplyDeleteHappy Autumn - enjoy every day, even when standing at the ironing board (I love that non-chore!).
Hugs - Mary
lazy lazarus - v. nice
ReplyDeleteThat poem painted an absolutely fabulous and vivid picture of the emotions you feel as you step toward Autumn.
ReplyDeleteI am a Libra, born on Oct 3, a poet for the last 60 years. As I grow older and know that I am running out of birthdays, I try to celebrate them for a longer period of time. Though losing my nursing job of 21 years in massive budget cuts in San Francisco will crimp my style, I fly to Rome on Thursday, meet up with four good friends from various parts of the U. S. We will celebrate my 65th there, sail 6 days in the Mediterranean, spend a night in Malaga, then four in Barcelona. Happy birthday to me....and to you!!!!
ReplyDelete