Lines Written

How did I miss this beauty by M.O.?

"knowing as we must, how the vivacity of what was

is married to the vitality of what will be?

What a bequiling way to describe the descent into winter.

It reminds me to bow my head in gratitude and respect

to all the fading flowers and fallen leaves; 

to honor with my attention, however fleeting it might be.

"So let us go on, cheerfully enough. . .

though the sun be swinging east,

and the ponds be cold and black, 

and the sweets of the year be doomed.

I think of these lines as I encounter the 

brown and drooping skeletons

in my mini meadow...

remember with delight how

gorgeous they were a short time ago.

Then I take a minute to recognize what

these dull and drooping skeletons provide...

seed-holders, wind-catchers...there is dignity

in their quiet release, their slow crumble.

Look deeper, it seems to whisper.

Beneath their remnants, insects overwinter, 

fungi weave their intricate maze, 

and the soil absorbs their petals.

It was a fruitful minute, giving me

a wider field of vision and a deeper

understanding of what lies beneath.

Namaste'